I just finished a mystery book (Devotion of Suspect X by Higashino), and coincidentally, the murder in the story happened on the same date that I began reading the book.
I haven’t been writing at all.
It’s excruciating.
I’m shifting the blame on the art commissions, and even now, I feel guilty not working on them tonight. But what the crap, according to my bullet journal, I’ve been working on artwork every night for the past 14 nights straight. So I deserve a break, because I say so. A break so I can finally post a blog update and hopefully do some sort of brainstorming for my writing projects after said update. It’s now gotten to the point where I have three different story ideas swirling around in my brain every time I’m at work and driving home from work, and once I get home, poof, motivation gone.
Fortunately, while I paint till the semi-reasonable wee hours of the night, I’m able to “watch” Poirot on the split screen, and I’m up to season five already. It will be a sad day when I finish all fourteen seasons. And I’ve also discovered that while I enjoy watching murder mysteries (though my CSI and L&O days are long over), I’m not much for reading them. Yes, sounds sinful, but it’s just not as interesting for me. I suppose I haven’t read the right murder mystery yet?
But Poirot?
I will be reading some Agatha Christie in the months to come, I’m not giving up on that genre just yet.
I can’t believe April Camp Nano is coming up?! Will I be participating? It really boils down to if I can manage to find the time to squeeze that in, because I do know that I have full intentions of rewriting the current novella (at 60k words, it’s not really a novella anymore). I won’t be doing a 60k rewrite, as I’m making major plot changes for the second draft and hoping to cut the story down to about 40k. My previous camps last year were both 30k word count goals, which were reached; but then again, I wasn’t working on art commissions at that time.
So could I pull it off again? Possibly. I suppose my reading will have to fall the wayside again, much to my chagrin. I’ve currently read 9 books so far this year, and all 9 of them were whims. I’ve yet to get to a book I have intentions of reading this year.
That’s my month so far. Hopefully this year has been treating you guys well! Always love to hear from you, any big plans or achievements on your end? Will you be participating in April’s CampNanowrimo?
ellDimensional 
I haven’t been writing either and it’s been awful. I miss it so much. I hope you’ll do Camp with us! If you find yourself lacking time, I think that even carving yourself out 15 minutes to write and 15 minutes to read each day wouldn’t be too bad. You could always pick up the writing again during July Camp. Just an idea. No pressure 😉
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April is still, oh, 19 days away… you know I’ll get ready by then, for sure! You’re right, thank you. At least I can set the goal for Camp, I may have to start small like that! So you’ll definitely be doing Camp then? From the looks of the FB response, I think we’ll definitely need two groups. That alone will be exciting! I’m getting anxious for it already.
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For sure! I need to light a fire under my butt and get this editing done!
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The same — well, brainstorming and replanning the plot, in any case. Orrrr possibly brainstorming a totally different story. I feel disloyal! I need to plan this April out this time around, time is too precious at this point to be throwing it into the wind!
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I just signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ve never done it before! And I don’t really have a coherent story idea so I’m just doing a collection of short stories and combining it with the A to Z blogging challenge to help hold myself accountable to actually doing it.
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Your first Camp, yay! That’s the good part about it: you can set your own goals, and even blogging counts. As long as you make progress is all that matters. I think you’ll do great! I’ll have to connect with you there, I’m http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/ellastasia over there!
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Yeah, I love that there’s even an “hours” option instead of words. I’m not using it this year, but maybe another time. And thanks! How do we connect? I am not good at figuring out websites today.
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I didn’t know there was an hours option! I may have to look into that…
With Camp, there isn’t a “friend” option like there is with the official nanowrimo site, but being that the Camp and Nano screenames are the same, I believe we can “friend” each other on there. For Camp, the profile page is more or less about looking at the project we’re working on and how close we are to our month’s goal. Your profile link is your “camper profile” link! I hear you about the website thing though. The older I get, the less tech-savvy I get!
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Ahhh, I feel you so much on having no time to write, darling. I have been in the same boat for so long, it feels like. And it does get worse when you are super motivated when you can’t write and then not motivated at all when you do have some time, only to feel guilty about it later and then repeat the process…*facepalm* But I hope you’re able to find some time to write and get those ideas out on paper, if nothing else. I’m always impressed by you and you know I believe in you! ❤
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Thank you so much for the encouragement, dear friend! The conundrum of muse vs reality is so frustrating! We’re supposedly getting snowed in tomorrow so I’m hoping I can be uber productive in both creative fields. I think I need to temporarily sacrifice my reading time and put it into writing. As with all creative outlets, there’s a tendency to go overboard with it. Just one chapter ends up being ten chapters, and just five minutes ends up being an hour and a half. So tonight, I solemnly swear that I will brainstorm and reread my old draft. That usually does the trick…hopefully this time, too!
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I hope the snow day, ages ago (see how I’m finally catching up on blog comments) was productive for you! And if not, I hope you’ve been forgiving of yourself and doing what you can! I totally understand going overboard with whatever you are involved in at the moment, which ends up causing you to sacrifice something else; more like my life story, really. I hope all is well! ❤
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I’ve been struggling with writing, too. In fact, I think you might have seen my Tweets about it yesterday. But basically, I’ve been experiencing anxiety as a result of numerous things, most of it stemming from my bad habits of obsessing on worst-case scenarios and things that are out of my control (mainly things pertaining to work and writing). So I took about 10 days off from writing to focus on self-care and changing my way of thinking (both of which will be ongoing priorities for a while), and yesterday was the first time I wrote since then. It was tough, and I had a small bout of anxiety when I got stuck on something. But it’s a step in the right direction, I hope.
I like Candace’s suggestion of writing in small chunks of time, about 15 to 20 minutes. When you’re strapped for time, that’s one way you can sneak some writing in, since 20 minutes is better than spending no time on writing at all.
Also, that’s creepy about the murder mystery dates. O_O
Hugs and best wishes as you find a “balance” that works for you.
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Yes, I’ve noticed that you’ve been down and a bit MIA as of late, but no worries. Everyone has their time in the valleys, just know that we’re always right beside you ❤ A mental vacation is a good thing, and I know you know that the muse will always lure you back into its arms. I'm glad to hear that you were able to take a tentative step back into your writing (the novella?). Do you keep a writing journal? Writing out your story issues can be helpful.
And I didn't know that Camp now has an hours option for the month goals! As well as lines and page amounts, which is very neat. Even an hour a day, five days a week, would be beneficial. But of course, we know how "oh, just ten minutes" can turn into a hundred minutes. I think word sprints are in my future for April…
I sincerely wish you success in your writing goals. I know you can do it! You're so creative, and so full of heart, not to mention smart, so just take it a day at a time. And furthermore… Iceland!! XD
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Thank you, Jessica. *hugs*
Yes, I took time away from The Novella, and I went back to it for a little bit on Sunday. The problem isn’t so much technical issues with the story (though I do keep a sort-of story journal when I have such issues or questions), but my own fears and anxiety. I actually got stuck with part of a scene on Sunday and couldn’t think of a solution… and BAM. Mini anxiety attack.
So it’s more of a “me” problem than a story problem right now.
Um, ICELAND. 😀 I have a feeling that trip will be more beneficial now than I first hoped it to be.
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Poirot! I love Poirot so much! I’ve watched all of the TV series, though haven’t read the books. I’m sure the books are even better!
As far as April Camp goes, I really wanted to make it this year, but I have to finish revising a book, and so I haven’t been able to do any planning for Camp. I feel like my life is all editing and revisions, right now, and it makes me miss just simply writing.
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I adore him!! I’m still only at season 7, and already, I’m afraid of knowing it will eventually come to an end. I’ll let you know how the books are, I too am convinced the short stories will be just as charming as the tv series.
Ouch, editing and revisions is such a pain. I know some folks love it, and while I don’t mind the perfecting, it can get really frustrating. But it’s only temporary! I hope you’ll be able to participate in July’s Camp! Have you done Camp/Nanowrimo before?
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How many episodes total are there of Poirot? I might have missed some earlier ones. I just watched whatever PBS showed, so they may have skipped some.
I did NaNowrimo last year (on my own though, without signing up), and I ended up with 35k words. I’m not sure if I can ever manage 50k, but it is fun trying!
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Some episodes are the usual 40 minutes, but I’ve been getting spoiled by the 1.5 hour ones! The whole series, which is about 14 seasons if I’m not mistaken, are all on Netflix now.
I totally hear you about doing 50k! Makes me regret what I did with all that time before having a job and a family. But 35k is excellent, definitely a big achievement, congrats! I love Camp for its ability to set your own goals… Worth a try!
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