Saturday, June 13, 2009

Looking Back

Given this blog has been around for a year now (Happy Birthday blog!), I thought it was time to look back and see if I’d learnt anything.

Looking back over my previous posts I can see that:

  • I’m more interested in questions than answers. The posts I find most interesting are the ones that explore inner conflicts, live issues, and conflicting positions, rather than the posts that try to provide the definitive answer to a problem.
  • I suffer from perfectionism. Just getting stuff done in a systematic and consistent fashion is helping to balance that out.
  • Writing is getting easier for me. It no longer tends to put me in a bad mood. In fact, I’m more conscious of the ways it puts me in a good mood.
  • Some of my projects have been put to bed (either permanently or temporarily). I’m now solely working on The Gap, and hope to work on The Kingdoms once that is done. I have no further plans, because I can sense how much time and effort I am going to put into The Gap. At the same time, I believe I will finish The Gap and get it made.
  • I drink ginger beer now rather than Coke.

Monday, June 1, 2009

How I Write: In the Flow (2)

Today I've had one of the best days of writing I've ever had. Writing today was easy - a state of 'flow'.

What I particularly liked about today's flow state was it felt like a natural space for me to be in. I woke up this morning and I knew that I wanted to write. And that's what I've done, calmly and methodically for the majority of the day. I'd take breaks and then I'd come back to the writing again - not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I didn't feel driven. I felt right.

I've avoided the idea of writing as a full-time occupation for a number of years now, partly because I felt that I wouldn't be able to get the most out of my days, as I regularly find writing so hard that I couldn't spend most of the day doing it.

If I was able to write like today on an ongoing basis - even an occasional ongoing basis - then that reason no longer stacks up.

Because my flow state today was easy. It was effective. It was lasting. And it feels like it will be back.

Here's hoping.