Has Anybody Seen My Momentum? #momentum #interest #enthusiasm #writing

I haven’t written much lately. I believe my work in progress is suffering, and I’m sure my characters miss me. It’s been a while since I paid any attention to them.

I’ve had a busy summer so far. MG and I are celebrating a big anniversary this year. We’re doing things throughout the year to celebrate. Recently, we spent a week in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with our sons and their families—all under the same roof in a large house we rented. About ten days ago, we hosted an anniversary brunch to celebrate with family and friends. In the fall, we plan to take a Polynesian Islands cruise. All that planning, travel, and celebrating takes time. Mostly, it takes time away from my writing. That spells trouble with a capital T for me.

When I go too long without writing, I lose my momentum. My creative juices dry up. My enthusiasm flags. Disinterest rears its ugly head. My energy takes a hike. My drive disappears. Hard as I try, I just can’t work up the oomph to drag myself to my office, sit my butt in front of my MacBook Pro, and pick up in my WIP where I left off.

I find chores that must come first, and therefore writing will have to wait till last. I have laundry to do, bills to pay, flower beds to weed, vegetable plants to water, floors to mop, email to answer, social media accounts to check, thank you notes to write, skin to exfoliate, and so on.

I don’t get away with slacking off for very long. Soon the headaches begin. It’s them. I know it’s them—my characters. They’re responsible for my pain, and they are unmerciful. They pound on the inside of my skull, demanding to be let out, insisting I write the rest of their story or they will drive me insane. More insane than usual, that is.

I suppose I should thank them despite their antisocial behavior. Without their insistence, I might go even longer without writing. Their demands force me back to my MacBook Pro as a matter of survival. Remarkably enough, once I begin writing about them again, my headaches vanish. There has to be a connection, don’t you agree?

Tonight, I have to chance making my characters wait a little bit longer for me to write about them while I take care of one last chore—my blog post for this week. I sure hope they’ll understand. I’m awfully close to running out of aspirin.