1. Morning pages. All done except from 1 day that I had a friend at home.
2. Artist's Way tasks. Written tasks, yes. Artist date NO (second consecutive week).
3. Blogging: 3 blogs.
4. 'Shooting' story. I've just written 500 words. Ridiculous!
Maybe I sound angry but I am quite angry at myself. Next Wednesday I am away for 3 weeks to Spain and Greece. It sounds fantastic but: 1. R might not be able to come with me at all (work issues). 2. A friend from Greece (who I haven't seen in 4 years) comes to visit Barcelona for 2 weeks (my sister and I will go to Greece 1 week afterwards), which sounds really nice but I don't think I'll get much time to write and be on my own. My friend had to come just for one week but because she's found some problems she is going to stay with us for 2 weeks. She is the type of person who wants to be doing stuff ALL THE TIME. I am worried about finances and I am worried I won't have time to be on my own, rest, write, relax and get ready for September. Holidays should be stress free and I feel right now I rather work!!! I really wanted to get loads of writing done this July and yes, I have read loads, reflected loads, made little changes in my life, morning pages; but I haven't achieved my main objective: dedicate more time to my creative writing. Sorry about all this worried, angry bunch of words but I had to write them down or I would have exploded. The British summer is not helping either.
I don't even know what goals I should write for next week. I feel pretty chaotic right now.
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Ooh V, that's a tough situation with your friend. You may have to just give your friends a heads-up - that while you'd love for her to stay with you, you have a lot of writing goals, etc. you want to accomplish so you may not be accessible 24/7 to do stuff.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Vienna! That already sounds stressful and you haven't even left for the trip yet. I agree with Carolyn, maybe if you go ahead and tell your friends that you need to use this as a mini-writing retreat, you can go out (or stay in) during the mornings to work on your own stuff and then meet up with them late morning or afternoon. (or maybe claim 1 day a week to yourself)
ReplyDeletei've totally spent weeks, whole semesters in fact, angry with myself in the way you describe. but that doesn't really help me write. so, maybe think of this awkward, frustrating period as you learning how to make time for your creative writing--making time is a skill just like any other and it can take a while & a few rough attempts (or many many rough attempts) to figure out what works for you.
Celebrate the 5000 words you wrote last week & the fact that despite all the craziness, you got down 500 words this week.
I think the flexibility you mentioned in your last post, or comments on City GIrl's post, is key. It's a skill I'm trying to learn myself. I'm already trying to figure out how to adapt morning pages to the upcoming semester--maybe I can do three pages (or some mornings, 1 page) of creative writing instead of writing about myself & what I want to do.
I'm sure once you get to Barcelona everything will sort itself out.
good lord, sorry i wrote so much!
ReplyDeleteDitto on everything above. As difficult as it may be, you will have to be candid with your friend and tell her that you will need time to yourself.
ReplyDeleteThere's no reason you can't use your morning pages to write your story. As Julia Cameron says, there's no wrong way to do morning pages unless you don't use them. I've been writing my Beijing stories in the morning pages, otherwise I have no idea when I'd fit them in. That's three pages at a time!
Thank you very much for the support and the advice. It means the world to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'll definitely will have to be clear with my friend about a few things re: holiday and private time. It's going to be a bit tough since she's actually staying at my sister's or parent's house all the time. Maybe I can get her to write her own Morning Pages!!! :-) I also need to be clear about financial situation and the fact that, at least 1 week, I want to totally relax in our house in the country side instead of going travelling like mad around the country. I have another tough year ahead and I really feel like I need to recharge. I hope she takes it well and we all can have a nice, relaxing holiday.
Can I really write my story as morning pages? The problem I find with that is that Shooting is at a stage where mainly needs editing. Doesn't that defeat the poing of uninterrupted morning pages writing? It will involve, re-reading, re-writing, going through them again and again!
Thanks again very much for being there for me. Your comments have helped me to think clearer.
OF COURSE you can write your story as morning pages! They can be whatever you want them to be! And wouldn't Cameron be proud to know that the ideas there are actually turning into creations?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the editing can be something more like miniature rewrites of paragraphs and sentences. If you have to rewrite, rewrite it from memory in the pages and then compare it with the story on your computer later on - that's totally revising. Plus, since you won't be looking at it while you're rewriting, you might come up with more details and sensations to describe than you might otherwise.
And de nada. :-)