WHEN YOU’RE SICK AND DON’T FEEL LIKE WRITING

WHEN YOU’RE SICK AND DON’T FEEL LIKE WRITING

            The other day, I got my second COVID shot, and I must say, it kicked my butt!

            On top of that, I’ve been off the entire week because we’ve had house painters here. That meant a lot of disruptions, not only because of the painters themselves, but arranging to let the doggies out among other things. While it sounds like the perfect opportunity to write, think again.

            It turns out I did some major reading and napping. Not exactly a productive week. During that time, I managed to finally file away some paperwork I’d sorted the week before, write my usual blog and Facebook articles, and come up with the title for the A and B I’d already formulated for book #4 of the Meleena’s Adventures series. However, the day I decided to start Chapter 1, guess what? I kept getting interrupted, plus I didn’t want to miss my COVID shot appointment.

            That was Thursday. Then good old Friday came around and that shot kicked my butt! I spent the day under a blanket in my chair, barely able to move, let alone write or do anything else except do the dog routine and a final walkaround when the painters finished.

            The sum accomplishment of my new book #4?

            The title, the header, and a blank Chapter 1.

            Then that all made me think.

HOW CAN YOU ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING WHEN YOU FEEL SICK?

            It’s okay for everyone to take a day or two when one feels sick for a cold, flu, or even mild COVID, for instance.

            What about chemo therapy?

            What about extended bouts of MS or Lupus, or worse?

            As crappy as I felt yesterday (as I write this draft, I still don’t feel 100%), it was, and is a struggle to write what I’m doing now.

            Just think of someone in a worse state.

SELF-IMPOSED DEADLINES

            This is another reason I’m against self-imposed deadlines. While some people need them to stay motivated, I always ask the question, why do you need motivation?

            If writing is really a passion for you, that passion IS your motivation, not the other way around. If you’re a serial procrastinator, well…I have trouble computing writing as a passion versus writing as a hobby. I’ve been slammed before by the writing community for suggesting the writer take up knitting or tennis, or something that takes less effort and stress…something more immediately satisfying…something that takes less patience and longevity for a payoff.

            Placing a self-imposed deadline on your writing turns it into an ugly contest…a sport. It puts undue stress on something that should be a pleasure, a passion, a love and not an agony and a stress.

            What happens when you get sick and don’t feel like writing?

            That old self-imposed deadline looms. So, you aren’t feeling good and don’t want to write, but now you have a deadline and you freak out. Guess what? You fall apart.

            What was supposed to be a pleasure becomes torture.

            Are you after that tortured artiste thing?

            I sure hope not!

PATIENCE IS KEY

            I’ve certainly had my down times. I’m like everyone else. However, that’s not to say I wasn’t thinking about writing. I WAS thinking about writing. I just wasn’t executing because it was too much mental and physical effort. Like yesterday. Even today, as I type this, about now, I’m almost rushing because I’m running out of steam. Geez, my day hasn’t even started yet. At the same time, I feel a lot better than yesterday so there IS hope. I have a couple of major tasks ahead of me to finish up the house painting thing, now that the crew is gone. I could probably delay these tasks again, but I’m going to suck it up and get them out of the way. No self-imposed deadline here. I just want them out of the way.

            What about my next novel #4 in the Meleena series?

            Patience Grasshopper.

            There’s still a good chance I won’t even touch it the rest of this weekend.

            I have no deadline, self-imposed or otherwise.

            As it turns out, the next morning, Sunday, I managed to squeeze out a page and a half before I got interrupted again. Maybe tonight, Tuesday, after I post this article, I can finish that chapter. Who knows?

IF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE WRITING…DON’T

            It’s simple as that. If you don’t feel like writing, don’t.

            If it’s a true passion, you’re going to find yourself sneaking in a sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter or two when you get to it.

            You may be doing a blog article, just communicating with friends on Facebook, writing letters to friends, or nothing at all for a while during a rather harsh spell or treatment.

            Don’t fret the little stuff. Don’t stress not writing.

            Get yourself well then return to writing with gusto. It may even be therapy when you get right down to it.

            Your stories aren’t going anywhere. Nobody’s going to steal your ideas. Remember, your ideas have already been done by someone else a hundred times, just not with your unique vision and voice!

            Relax and get better.

            Happy writing!