Running on the spot

I feel like I'm running on the spot to stop myself going backwards.

Here I am working another 5 day 12 hour week to get through marking assignments and delivering lectures. Last week end I almost had the first book of the new fantasy trilogy finished. But now I won't get back to it until after next weekend. (I'm a guest at Conquest over the weekend). And in the meantime I'm mulling over ideas for the next King Rolen's Kin trilogy.

What I'd really like is uninterrupted time to write. (See picture) No stress, no pressure. Yet, according to Andrea Kuszewski over at IEET, stress can help trigger creativity. (See the article here)

'When placed in a situation where innovation was necessary, Ernesto said, “People think beyond the normal capabilities of an object, and try to surpass the limitations it imposes upon itself.” In this way, he describes their behavior as Technological Disobedience, or breaking all rules in which that product’s technology was intended (rule-breaking, like I’ve said before, is one of the hallmark traits of creativity).'

So I hope, as my deadline looms closer, while the bathrooms and kitchens get pulled apart and rebuilt around me, and I continue to lecture and mark assignments in a college that teaches an accelerated curriculum, that some of this 'creativity under stress' rubs off on me.

When it all gets too much, I imagine running away to place with a view of the ocean and a room where I can sit with my computer. I make a cup of tea and shut the door on the world and disappear into my head to write. My husband and family are there in the next room. I can go out and join them any time I like. But they don't interrupt me to tell me the cat threw up on the couch again. They just clean it up themselves. Ahhhh, heaven!

What is your 'happy place' that you imagine when things get too much? For me it involves writing. I can't imagine living without writing.

Writing on the Run

It can be pretty hard to find the time to write. Life has a way of coming at you all at once. Family dramas, excessive workload, sickness - all of the above.

One of the things that has really saved me when things get hectic is the discovery that my laptop works fine on the bus. This gives me up to an hour a day during the week, and it all goes surprisingly well when I don't get distracted by people talking loudly on their mobile (first up against the wall when the revolution comes) or to each other right behind me. If you are prone to travel sickness, that would probably knock that one out.

If you are being beaten back even more, there are always those few minutes spent waiting for an elevator, or waiting for the bus or train. You can use those moments to dream away about your story, maybe flesh out a character, or if things are really grim, just feel good about the fact you are a writer.

Carry a notepad or electronic equivalent that you can slip easily into your laptop bag, pocket or purse. If you get into the right frame of mind, its amazing how productive you can be on the ideas front in very short slices of time. I personally love writing with pen on paper. Sitting down in a cafe with my English Breakfast tea (strong) and writing in my journal is a treat.

Feed the beast: Let yourself get immersed in good fiction, or visual story. Read things that excite you. Inspire yourself creatively. You can do that even you are unwell and too physically exhausted to sit in a chair. Try audio books if you need to be on the move. Get the creative juices flowing - you never know when that great new concept will hit you right between the eyes. I got my last one pulling up weeds.

Find your niche: Even in the most busy life there will be places you can find a calm moment - 'eyes in the storm'. My favourite is to escape to a local cafe. The development of an invisibility field is highly recommended:)

Use the mundane tasks of the day as brainstorming time - doing the dishes, sweeping the floor, ironing, painting, handyman stuff etc

How do you manage to fit in writing when things get crazy?