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Corrie
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 20 Aug 2014 Location: Newmarket, ON Status: Offline Points: 1443 |
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I think you signed up for the screenplay challenge...that hasn't started yet, so you're good. The short story comp is underway though. |
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250 R2: How Many Sleeps
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plkphoto
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 14 Jan 2015 Location: AliceSprings OZ Status: Offline Points: 3153 |
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Try the other corner of this world (Screenwriting Bar & Lounge), where people are currently discussing what genres they don't want to get... I think it's still a while before the first round for the screen play challenge. Here's where you want to be: http://forums.nycmidnight.com/screenwriting-bar-lounge_forum2.html Don't worry, NYC Midnight closes entries before the first round starts, so it's impossible to join and miss it! The exact dates/times of each round (starting and ending times as well as results given by) should be in the rules you had to read (or at least say that you read) to enter. You can find them linked on here: If you haven't yet, I definitely recommend that you read through the entire Official Rules and Participation Agreement, as it often gives you important things like formatting guidelines and file naming procedures, which might disqualify you if you don't follow them.
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justmel
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 25 Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin, USA Status: Offline Points: 2114 |
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A belated and very sincere thanks for the responses to my
plea. Shari—you totally “get” what I was asking. Kerry and Jay, not so much, but I appreciate
your comments. The thing is, it’s not
about passion, or anyway not a lack of it.
I love to write. I’ve always
loved to write. I think I’d be better at
it if I did it more, but I’ve always known that one day I would be a Writer,
capital W. In my 50s now and realizing
time is running out, I take my WIPs (present and future) very seriously. There is nothing I’d rather do than spend
hours and hours writing every single day. But. Welcome to the world of the adjunct “professor”: If I’m not sleeping, in the bathroom, or in
the car, I’m working. Even when I’m not physically
at work, I’m either grading stuff, prepping for classes, updating my course
delivery page, holding office hours, or emailing students. (And yes, my husband hates it—but it does pay
the bills.) I love my job. (I don’t
love the pay, but I do love the job—I’ve been doing it for twenty years.) But I have to be in a “zone” in order to do
it well—and from the beginning of a semester to the end, I’m never caught up. There’s always work waiting to be done, so I
can’t shut off the “Work Zone.” What I want is to be able to write too. And I’ve tried. Really and truly I have. This competition was my latest venture into trying. I
paid good money to enter this thing, I told myself. I’m
jolly well going to do my best. Well,
that worked out OK. I got into Round 2,
which was way more than I expected. But I’ve been in Writing Zone ever since they announced the
Round 1 prompts—and guess what? I’m having
trouble getting back into Work Zone.
Yes, I’m going to work, but I collected
a mountain of student papers weeks
ago that I still haven’t finished grading.
I still have thirty-plus left to go. And that's just one example. What I really need is balance. Balance between Writing Zone and Working
Zone. That’d be ideal. That’s what I was asking for in my original
post. I like the ideas you’ve suggested, Shari, and once I get out
of Beating Myself Up Zone, where I’m currently stuck doing nothing productive
at all, I’m going to try them. These
especially: 1.
Tell myself I WILL write every day, even if it's only 250 words. (I’ve tried this many times before—but it won’t hurt to try
again) 2.
Create an "action plan" of things other writers have
suggested (I love the Maberry idea and might give that a
shot) 3.
learn to stop self-sabotaging my creative writing . . . realize, I
get one life . . . and I love writing too much to keep short changing it. (this one almost brought me to tears—yes, yes, yes) 4.
find out where we self-sabotage (ahhh,
this is KEY) 5.
figure out where writing fits in our lives, and figure out what we
want to do about it. (I know what I want to do about it—I just have
to figure out how to do it) And this will be my new mantra: It is
OK to write! It is OK to write! It is OK to write! Anyway sorry for taking up so much space here . . . and
thank you all again for being awesome. melinda |
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douglasesper
NYC Midnight Groupie Joined: 15 Feb 2014 Location: cleveland, ohio Status: Offline Points: 202 |
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justmel,
totally hear you on finding balance...and I have failed miserably at finding it, heh. the healthiest thing to work on though is avoiding the beating yourself up zone because it can only do harm, not help. you need to allow yourself those periods where writing takes precedence over work no matter how backed up you get. those words need to get out and eventually as they do, the pressing absolution of writing zone will allow you to creep in some work as well...at least, that's what I keep telling myself. doug
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mrjaywilson
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 682 |
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Justmel, I get you, trust me. For the better part of 2014, I was an aerospace engineer spending 15-16 hour days making sure planes don't fall apart while in the sky. That left roughly 8 hours for sleep and whatever else I needed to get done. I dedicated 4 hours to sleep (which was easy because that's how I've been for the last twenty years), and that left 4 hours for the rest juggling visiting my mother in the hospital, editing for other writers, exercise daily for mental and physical health (mostly rock climbing, though), reading to keep the skills up, and of course writing. Back then it was writing before work, each break (including lunch), after work, and any other time I could fit it in: while in line at the DMV, toss in a sentence or two while at the grocery store, even wrote while cooling down between boulder paths (although, I'd never suggest it because trying to type with tired rock climbing fingers can make you insane with frustration haha). The reason I said what I said about passion, is that you'll find a way to do it. These days, it's much easier for me, and I suppose it's an added benefit that I'm single so I don't have to worry about another human being. Even if I did, though, and my life was still chaotic, I'd still try to get writing in, even if it meant I had to do it in the shower or at a stoplight or when I'm relaxing before sleep. If you love it, you find a way, excuses be damned. I think the fact that you've finished at least two stories for this contest is proof of that? Though, I'm sorry to hear that work suffered as a result. Methinks the school ought to give you an assistant. ;) Whatever the case, we're all writers and we all have a passion for it, obviously, or we wouldn't be here. So, tell your students to listen better in class and start writing papers so good you won’t have to grade them… that way you have more time to write. haha In response to how you might balance your work zone and writing zone, I don't really know how you would handle that. Each person is different, but it's something that takes practice anyway. It's not fair for me to say that kind of thing will be easy, because it won't. I've always been able to do and think about 30 things at one time, have three different conversations going at once, etc... so I balanced work and writing like I balanced my focus. As Shari suggested, you just have to force yourself to do it, even if you resist, because eventually you'll naturally find a balance (well, hopefully, anyway.) Thanks for sharing, Justmel! It's interesting to peek inside the lives of writers. Where they come from, what they do, and how they do. :) |
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SEHBicycle
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 26 Jan 2015 Location: Westerville, OH Status: Offline Points: 813 |
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Woo-hoo on the success, and good luck with the school zone!
Aha! I know that zone! Good luck. Silly perfectionist. I have had to learn to beat THAT side of me into a better balance. Any time I do only part of a big task, I now say, "it's better than it was before." I've learned that some things don't have to be as good as I can get them. And power tools. Buy power tools! Or, tools. The right tool for the right job.
Perfect Mantra!
Here are a few other suggestions that writers in my NCFS group had, which have helped me: 1. Write or edit during lunch hour. I used to take a 30-minute lunch. This week I put in the formal request to start taking a full hour, b/c so many days, I started to get on a good roll for ideas--whether fresh ideas for D2 or hack/slash stuff out of the ch.--but then I'd have to abort b/c my lunch was over. Now my workday starts at 7 instead of 7:30. [OK, DOH, I gave that one. But it was the expansion from :30 to :60 I should have focused on--that I learned there was a more "optimal" time to put into the writing, else I felt cheated when I had to clock back in] 2.
Find a way to compress
other tasks. Some of that is “saying no,” and some of that is saying, “do I
really need to hunt for 5 new sponsors for the bike club? I picked up this task
b/c no one was doing it.” This is the
last year I’ll do sponsorship, and I’m only asking the folks who said “yes”
last year. I’m one of 300+ members. Time for someone else to take up the task
when I send the “I’m stepping down” message.
And I won’t feel guilty if no one picks it up, and I WILL stop doing it! One you've already hit on, and congrats on making it to
round 2! Spend money on your writing, in ways you suspect will: help you
improve, take your writing seriously, value your writing, whatever. I’m doing it
for all 3 of these. Finally, I’m learning to set “regret” aside. Do I miss
doing 60-mile rides? Do I miss riding at
the 22-mph pace for 2 hours, my heyday’s “best ever” athletic shape, and the
20-mph pace I was at before I got serious about the novel? Yes.
But I no longer REGRET that I’m not there. I remind myself, my novel is my baby. I have
SOOOO many babies in my idea file, and the “aborted novels” files. What I would regret is not having the chance
to flesh them out and share them. So, I no longer begrudge myself the time I’m
spending on my fiction. I’m learning to
value my 20- or 30-mile rides. I’m
making new friends as I find a different clique to ride with at more tame
paces. I’m riding for health and life-long fitness now, instead of my OCD’s
side and my “gotta prove myself” side. Good luck to you, finding the way to balance your
profession with your writing. My issues with my day job are that I’m pretty
good at it, I love it, and it pays REALLY well. That means to set it aside, I’ve
got to keep investing in these novels and see if my storytelling improves
enough to land an agent, and then the years to build a career as a novelist so
I can quit the day job. That’s the dream I’m investing in. I’m less passionate
about my day job. Mostly what that means:
I don’t take home the emotional burdens I used to; I no longer wrestle
with work problems at some I have the solution when I get back to work. That means my creativity is easier and easier
to turn on when I’m in the natural setting. Edited by SEHBicycle - 25 Mar 2015 at 11:34am |
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justmel
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 25 Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin, USA Status: Offline Points: 2114 |
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@Doug: Thanks—it means
a lot to know I’m not alone. I love this
advice: “you need to
allow yourself those periods where writing takes precedence over work no matter
how backed up you get.” You are so
right. It’s high time I shifted my
workaholic tendencies away from work and into my writing—or at least divided
them more equally. I need to start
thinking of my writing as legitimate work. I have to see myself as having two jobs that
demand—and deserve—equal effort and dedication.
This is BIG. @Jay: Wow, your schedule leaves me
breathless. And you’re right—if you
could write in the midst of a life as hectic as that, I have no excuses at
all. And that made me think: Excuses? Am I making excuses? At first I thought, No, they’re explanations, not excuses . . . But you
know what? You’re right. I have
been making excuses. Oh, if only I had time, then I’d write. I think that attitude is born of fear—and it needs
to stop. Notes to self: 1) The real reason you’re not writing year-round
is not that you don’t have time—it’s that
you’re afraid it will be crap. 2) All
first drafts are crap. But that’s what
revision is for. And 3) You can’t revise
a blank page. @Shari: I could go on about how I don’t get a
lunch hour and I don’t watch TV or do volunteer work or go to parties, but all
of that would just be another list of excuses. I waste plenty of time, and that time needs to
be spent writing instead of making up
more excuses for why I’m not writing. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For the insight, the wake-up call, the
encouragement, and especially for your patience and your willingness to take
the time to respond. It means more than
you know. melinda |
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lallison
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 22 Jan 2015 Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Offline Points: 326 |
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I hadn't responded on this thread because I was ashamed to say I didn't have anything going on but actually that's not completely true. I've been editing a collection of my father's stories for self publication. Intended it for xmas gift but it's almost April and.....so you know....
justmel, I work in the financial industry and manage two teams of people, serve on the board of an active non-profit and volunteer regularly with my therapy dog pretty much every weekend. Add that I'm preparing to move into a new place and just the general mayhem that is life. I really do understand and have a thousand and one of my own excuses for not writing daily. I find myself using down time (what there is of it) at work to do some writing (don't tell my employer!) and my new house has a great office set up I am looking forward to and some evenings go straight to the laptop with ideas in my head. I do need to get more disciplined about writing daily. I'm working on it! Doing this contest was a nice kick in the hinder for me and communicating with so many other writers has been inspiring and motivating. Especially this second round. |
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kerryadrienne
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 15 Jan 2015 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 404 |
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Once I started thinking of writing as a basic function of my existence, I made time. You know--you spend time on the toilet, and nothing keeps you from going. (same with eating, and to some extent, sleeping) Make writing just as necessary. You may not get those long "read a book" toilet moments every day, but you can get those quickies in.
Also, once it's a habit, not only does writing come more easily (most of the time)--but you crave doing it more. Suddenly, you have more bathroom time. Yeah, you still get constipated. (all.the.time) But sometimes, things just flow. I'll stop now. kerry
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Rd 3: One Night Under the Big Top
5th place: Rnd2: 8: Headcount 1st place: Rnd 1 grp 16: Dead in the Water |
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lallison
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 22 Jan 2015 Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Offline Points: 326 |
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There's a picture I'm going to have trouble getting out of my head now.....thanks.
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