Summertime Writing

This week was meant to be / scheduled to be the commencement of my first editing job on my first novel. It’s been earmarked in my diary as such for two months. July was chosen, because June was too early after the first write of the novel, and August would be too late - school holidays and all also.

However, I’m now four days into my big Editing / Redrafting month, and still can’t move my attention onto the business of writing. Rather than feel some guilt over this (which I have done, quite easily I find) I have become aware of just how much other business there is scheduled within our summers. In fact, on a completely unrelated project - but one which is ticking over very nicely indeed, I focus specifically on all that summertime business. My Summer Scraps album is coming along quite well, as is the writing I am doing in the background behind it.  Summer Scraps is both a creative and writing project for me, but more than that, has now become a learning lesson for my own writing life.

Like many I know locally, my week has been - and will be further - an intense pressure cooker of events. Yesterday was our school sports day, and picnic day, then the final ballet class for the school year. Tomorrow is a big family BBQ, and the summer school fete also. All have required copious planning, and attendance, and very much tired my whole family out. Around this, has been my own part-time work, and my husband’s needs for work and other committments also, as the school year winds itself up. We’ve struggled against intense heat and been rained out by sudden heavy thunder showers. We’ve planned menus and special shopping expeditions, who goes where and when. In between, the dog needs walking, and the house (a pig-sty) needs cleaning before the relies arrive. Whole days have been occupied simply in the state of summertime living.

Finding myself with six hours of blissful time alone today only, the calm between all these joyous summer storms, I guiltily dealt with some of the creative stuff in designing with my latest sports day photos (you should be doing the novel, my brain kept prodding at me every few minutes). Then I spent a couple of hours outside making the most of the sun (still not doing what I should be, my mind reminded me, as I felt the sun finally on my skin), reading the latest Writing Magazine which arrived in my mailbox this week. At least it is a writing magazine, I told myself. Surely that’s allowable as an excuse for not getting out that novel?

August’s edition has a Beginners article by Adrian Magson entitled, “Give Yourself a Break”. 

In it, he advices that writing aims be realistic during our summers. We should not expect much productivity whilst sitting out on a beach, he suggests. Oh, to be so lucky to even have a beach to sit out on, but hey - I have plans to visit the shore also soon. 

Adrian’s points are - 

• Don’t set unrealistic writing aims when you know circumstances are not in your favour.
• Random jottings can be just as productive as a full page. 
• Prepare a framework, then fill in the detail when time allows. 
• A relaxed mind is far more creative than a stressed one. 
• Don’t forget, have some fun, too. 

As for the last point, unbelievably I’m finding all this summer craziness more than a little fun. I’m loving it, as the McDonald’s adverts would suggest. 

In fact, all of the points in this simple and commonsense article hit home with me, right when I needed it, and in the perfect setting - sitting out in the summer heat in my backyard, surrounded by buzzy bees and a contently sleeping dog. After reading it, I acknowledged to myself that the plans to completely redraft my novel in the middle of a hectic summertime were just incorrect for me. Writing comes easier in the colder less social months. Perhaps that’s why NaNoWriMo is done in November, where nothing much else is happening? And before the obligations of the holiday season.

Well, I mused. My Summer Scraps project had already highlighted the fact that summertime is as full of obligations on our time as any Christmas and New Year’s rush. Add to that, the evokation that you’re meant to be providing a relaxing and well-earned rest break from the rest of the year, and making the most of the weather. And people and society keep making demands more and more on your time. A recipe for disaster if combining with dedicated plans to rewrite a full novel - at least for me, I now know.

Once I gave myself permission to move away from this plan already-going-wrong, and reschedule the Redraft until at least September (once school commences again), then I immediately found my new relaxed state and surroundings working magic for my creativity. In sitting there for a couple of hours just now, I’ve already come up with a brand new idea for a new novel, a partial outline on it, and the main character. And for the other novel I started working on outlining last month, I’ve also added some powerful thoughts and links to it from the first. Now I do have the motivation to fire up th laptop tonight, and actually document those thoughts suddenly coming to me now. From avoiding that laptop like the plague (yes, I even let the batteries run out last week) I now look forward to looking into it’s screen.

So, the crazy hazy days of summer (cliche intended, and utterly correct for my life) mean, for me, a ramp down of full-on writing plans, and the allowance of two or three months of idea-spinning, creative ponderings, outlining, actual living and relaxing, and other creativity around my family and my own hectic life. And of course, the holidays.  And I feel immediately much more productive and creative in accepting the truth of this.  I feel empowered finally, to write as I know I can, and produce what I know I can in this timeframe. Summer writing just got fun.

Comments

[Pauline]

I'm so enjoying your blog these days...being both a scrapbooker and a freelance writer myself. Your 30 day project actually inspired me to finally start a novel so I joined in with some writer friends (yeah! I finally have some here in my small town) for a three day novel writing retreat and got started.
I haven't been back to it and like you, summer is getting in the way but I think I'm ready to relax about it now! Thanks! And keep on posting.