How do you get back into it?

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Carole

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I have been moving for the past...well, it seems like the past year even though it is only been a few weeks. I left all my projects on the back burner. Now that we are settling into the new place I am having a really difficult time getting back into writing.

Do any of you have techniques you use to draw you back in after a hiatus? I tried diving in head first last night and I almost drowned! Ha~
 

scfirenice

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Go back and reread what you already have down. It'll get you going and remind you where you've already been. Also, it doesn't hurt to read something else along the same lines as what you are trying to do (If there is anything) Reading always gets the juices flowing!
 

StoryG27

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Don't be afraid to let yourself drown, seriously.

Read, like SC suggested, and then write, write, write.

Write even if you think it is the worst dribble drabble you've ever written...just keep writing. Sometimes you just have force yourself to plunge back into it and know you won't get your head above water for a little while. You may write a few pages of the most unispired stuff you've ever written, and that's ok. You can fix it later...but after a few days, you'll be surprised how it comes back. I had a three month hiatus right in the middle of one of my books and I had to do the same thing. Give yourself permission to write subpar. When you go back through and do your second draft, you can fix the rough parts, so it's no biggie. Just make yourself get back into the habit and flow, and within a few days, writing will be a treat again instead of a chore.
 

Carole

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Thanks, pals! SG, Writing sub-par is the scariest thing for me to think of. Of course I'm not saying that my writing isn't...just that deliberately going into it wih that permission is scary. I'm obsessive compulsive, ADD and I have that nasty perfectionist thing tossed in for good measure. I hope I can find that zone again. I'm sure I will, it's just not there right now. Maybe tonight I'll devote an hour or three just to writing and nothing else.

SC, that is a good idea. I haven't read any of the past chapters in so long that I have actually forgotten which ones I was happy with and which ones still need to be reworked.
 

Pat~

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Hey, if you just moved a few weeks ago, I'd say you're doing well to even be concerned about your writing! I, too, am ADD, with a generous bit of O/C perfectionism thrown in. What is your writing environment like? If you still have boxes, that may contribute to that flooded feeling. See if your writing environment is conducive to concentrating; do you have a place just for that in your new home? Make it special, and personal--a place where you can read and think undisturbed. Then do all the excellent advice posted above, and see if that doesn't get the juices flowing again.
 

Carole

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It's still pretty cluttered. Today is the first day I have been able to actually spend all day unpacking. As for the uninterrupted space,well that is pretty much this entire place. Hubby works out of town and is only home on the weekends and my boys have gone to their dad's. In the old house, my office was really far removed from the rest of the house so I always felt like a recluse. Here, I have my computer set up in the great room so when hubby is home I can still write without feleing like I am in a different zipcode.
 

Pat~

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Sounds like you enjoy writing with loved ones nearby. I bet when Hubby gets back, you'll feel more like writing. It'll probably take awhile just to get used to the environmental changes, too, even if they are positive ones. Hang in there!
 

Carole

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pb10220 said:
Sounds like you enjoy writing with loved ones nearby.

Sometimes...and sometimes, well...they drive me up the wall. None of them get the whole "in the zone" thing and believe that I can just step away for a second.
 
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