The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. April's co-hosts are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Renee Scattergood, and Tamara Narayan. Please visit the other IWSG participants.
IWSG Day Question: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
If March is any indication of what I do when it's hard to keep writing, the answer is I don't write. *sighs*
Last month was hard. It started out all right, but I received a Tetanus booster on March 5 during my yearly physical. I've never had a reaction to any vaccination before, but this one got me. I had a rash around the injection site for a week and my entire body ached. I still have a swollen, painful-to-the-touch lump at the injection site, and it's been almost a month since the injection. Then I somehow locked my sacroiliac joint with my pelvis on the left side. I was hoping it would fix itself, but it didn't. On March 26, I went to the chiropractor. The area isn't locked anymore, but I'm still having muscle spasms and pain from it. I've purchased a sacroiliac belt to stabilize the area, so we'll see how that works. If not, I'll have to return to the chiropractor.
So the increased pain meant less energy, so there was no writing in March.
That said, I am hoping to get the pain to more manageable levels so I can get back to writing. *crosses fingers*
What do you do to keep writing?
But I need a break from it too.
So for the next few months, I plan to focus on the print/ebook versions of Elements of Untethered Realms (forthcoming October 2018) and my UR Worlds story (forthcoming 2019). My UR Worlds story, though fantasy, involves a protagonist who is studying physics and astronomy, so I'll be able to indulge it my scientific knowledge while working in a fantasy world. My hope is that I'll be ready to rewrite/edit Forged once I finish the print proofread of Elements of Untethered Realms and the first draft of my UR Worlds story.
We'll see how it goes.
What are your goals for April?
2018 Stats
17,708 words written
17,708 words edited
78,718 friends' words edited
31 comments:
Oh goodness. I'm glad you're feeling a little better. Hopefully you'll get back into writing soon. I know that feeling of needing a break. I hope to finish HtW in April, but it is a busy month for me. Take it easy on yourself. :)
Hopefully you can get back in the swing of writing and stay healthy! Sometimes some time away from the stories gives them time to grow in the brain and they're easier to write with a fresh spirit.
Sorry about the reaction and the hip pain. Did they say you might react like that?
Just take a break from the fantasy and finish off the series later. Fans can wait.
Let yourself heal and take care. All your work will be there when you're well. Ask yourself if it was a friend asking whether to push on, what would you tell them? Just a thought. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
Hi Cherie, I'm glad you are feeling better. Hope you write lots in April. Hugs.
Ouch! That's good to hear the chiropractor helped. I didn't realize a chiropractor was good for muscle spasms. I'll remember that.
The mix of science and fantasy sounds great. Ir's what I want to do in my books, assuming I ever finish the darn thing.
Sorry about all the medical issues. That can be a real showstopper when it comes to writing. Heck, a bout of bronchitis was enough to knock me out of the writing routine for almost two weeks. Good luck with the chiropractor!
Sorry to hear you're ailing.
My goal for April is to finish the first draft of my current project, a contemporary romance, second in a series. It's threatening to become a sprawling mess, but my first drafts always are. I'm just going to let it be what it wants to be, then sharpen my machete for revision.
Gute Besserung to you, and may April bring you better writing weather.
Yikes, hope you feel better soon! Definitely okay to take a hiatus from writing for that:)
=( I'm so sorry. My 2 year old had adverse reactions to her last immunizations too...except they resulted in decreased immunity for well over a month. Sometimes I wonder at conventional medicine. Here's wishing you a decrease of pain!
Ugh. Sorry to hear you've been dealing with pain and issues. I know how draining that can be. Just try not to beat yourself up.
I vote for publishing under the same name. I find initials a little confusing honestly, because I can never remember if I'm supposed to add periods when I'm searching for the author. I hope your vaccine issues clear up. That sounds awful. http://www.raimeygallant.com
Hope you feel better soon. Physical difficulties do make it hard, especially pain. Take care of yourself.
Your stats for the year are still impressive!
I'm sorry about all the pain you've been in. I barely kept writing in my journal last year during the worst months, so I get the need for a break. Sometimes, it's good to watch movies, read books, and daydream in those kinds of times - keep the story brain awake, even when writing isn't working out.
I hope you feel better soon!!!
Sorry for your health problems. Those are tough to deal with.
I haven't written much in March as well, and I don't have your excuse of pain. Take care of yourself.
So sorry that you still are going through these health challenges. Don't be too hard on yourself. It must be hard to just do your job. Sometimes life happens no matter how much we want to write. Mine has been like that too as I organize my mom's move to Michigan from Florida the end of this month. I have to do everything, so not much energy for my own writing right now despite my desire.
It's hard to write when you're in physical pain. Hope you feel better.
Hi Cherie,
I hope you get better soon!
Oh, yikes! So sorry to hear about all the pain you've been experiencing. Something like that would drain anybody, so I'm not surprised at all you had to step away from writing, as a result. Hope April is a better month for you!
And I totally get the urge to play around with a different genre. (I sometimes have difficulty working on Echo Effect, since all I want to do is focus on my horror projects.) Your UR Worlds story seems like a great way to satisfy your need for something scientific, for sure. Good luck getting back into Forged after your break!
It sounds like you've been busy despite all the physical difficulties and challenges going on. Praying April goes better for you—the reaction to the shot doesn't sound like a good thing at all!
I hope you heal quickly from all this physical pain you've been in lately. That's terrible! Naturally, you're not going to write under those circumstances and you shouldn't even expect to. Health is priority number one, and you need to work at getting better before it becomes a permanent part of your life like it has mine.
ACK! Sorry about the pain! It is hard to do anything while in pain. I hope you recovery quickly!
So sorry you had that bad reaction! How awful. I hope April will be a much better month for you. Sounds like you have a good plan as far as focusing on the UR stories - good luck!
Hi Cherie. In some ways I envy people who only write in one genre. So uncomplicated. I like the pen name route, but seeing you need a backlist to find any success as an author, a pen name for different genres makes this problematic. I'm still figuring it out while I write my books.
Pain is an energy sapper. Hope you're doing better. I've been slogging through another adjustment at work, so not getting much done. But it's okay. I've debated pen names, as you know, and find the one name so much work, I'll just keep using it.
I hope you feel better very soon! Ugh! I once heard a writer speak about those moments in life when one cannot write. He said they happen, and the best thing we can do is give ourselves permission to not write. Otherwise, we'll feel torn up inside ON TOP OF whatever we have going on that keeps us from writing. So be gentle on yourself. :)
Poor you. You really have had a rough time of it. Unfortunately, I do know a little of the pain you’re suffering. I injured my sacroiliac joint and pelvic floor muscle three years ago. I really didn’t know what pain was until that happened. It took a while to get the pain under control, but once it was and I saw a specialist physio, I did recover. Hopefully, you’re well on the way to be being better again.
I cut my hand on rusty piece of metal and had to have a tetanus shot too. Thank goodness I didn't have a reaction. I'm so sorry that you did. So odd. I'm just glad you're feeling better, you'll get back to writing soon. I've been dealing with my own issues of writing downtime that wasn't a welcome change, but I'm finally coming out it. Wishing the same for you!
Hi Cherie!
Just dropping by to say hi!
Hope you feel better soon. :)
So sorry to hear about your reaction to the vaccine and your locked joint. Ouch. Neither sound fun and I can totally understand how they made you not want to write. I hope the belt helps with the spasms. Sending you healing thoughts!
~Jess
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