F or me, maintaining my writing discipline goes (literally) out the window when the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the air temperature rises.
Consequently, given the glorious summer that we’re still enjoying, my writing has not so much stalled, as ground to a halt. And just as it was about to cross the finishing line in what I hoped would be a blaze of glory but was probably destined to be more like a quiet flicker of satisfaction.
I cannot believe I’m saying this but, I’m beginning to wish summer would retreat gracefully into the wings so that I could finally bring my draft novel to a conclusion and begin editing.
Obstacles to maintaining my writing discipline
I can find any number of ways to distract myself from sitting down at this screen and getting on with some work. On any given day of the week, I will probably get a wash together, or peg out wet laundry, or clean a bathroom, before I sit down to work.
Then I’ll clear my emails, check the calendar for upcoming events, pop into social media, and finally, open my draft novel and get my head into writing.
Once I’m off and running, self-discipline kicks in, and I make good progress.
But for the past two months, I have been spending most of my time painting and decorating; going on mini breaks and days out; visiting friends; having friends visit us; making plum jam… anything but writing. And whilst much of what I’ve been doing is legitimate ‘make hay while the sun shines’ prioritising, I also have to admit to myself that an element of self-doubt has once again slipped into my writing.
And that is the single biggest obstacle to maintaining my writing discipline.
Back to the drawing board
M y self-doubt stems from the end of June when Jack and I attended the Writer’s Festival and I received invaluable advice from a literary agent about converting my draft novel from a trilogy, to a standalone novel with the option of a follow-up.
Although I understood and bought into the advice, I couldn’t see a way to bring my draft to a satisfactory conclusion. How could I squeeze fifteen years and a change of venue into the current novel without either drafting another 30,000 words or ending up with some clumsy deus ex machina? It felt like I was having to go back to the drawing board and rethink the entire structure of the novel. I felt overwhelmed, over-faced, and demotivated.
At that point, any hope of maintaining my writing discipline evaporated in the summer heat.
I decided to leave the draft alone for a while and just enjoy the great weather in the hopes that I would find fresh inspiration when I got back to it. But as always, I found myself constantly thinking about it. If I was out walking, or doing domestic chores, my mind drifted towards the novel and how to move forward. Before long, I had the germ of an idea how I could find my conclusion.
At the beginning of August, I began to draft a new chapter. It was enough to get me started and I happily wrote until I reached a sweet spot where all I had left to do was draft the final chapter. As I had all-but-written the closing scene in my head anyway, the end was clearly in my grasp.
That was three weeks ago, and I haven’t been back to it since.
We’ve got friends coming to stay next week, and I’ve got to bake a couple of cakes for the village’s VJ-Day celebrations at the weekend but after that, I am determined to draft that final chapter. I’m giving myself until the end of September to finish this novel. Watch this space.
