Have you ever seen the plate spinners at a circus or carnival? They start by balancing one plate on a thin long stick, then making it spin. Then they pick up another and another balancing and spinning all these plates on sticks.
Sometimes one will warble and the spinner has to very carefully adjust to make sure it stays spinning and even or… CRASH and the show’s over. Writing and life can feel like that. There’s a plate on a stick for everything we need to do and all the projects we have waiting to be written on.
They warble and sometimes crash to the ground. The key is to not worry about picking up all those shattered pieces. That plate fell, it’s broken beyond repair so just kick the pieces out of the way and put a new plate in its place.
As writers we know that not every project is going to go smoothly, there might be several plates that fall shattering our plots and a bit of our determination as that novel is written. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book or that it’s not worth your time. It just means that we have to make adjustments. Change the plot, setting or character. Maybe even let the manuscript set for a day or so, then dive back in with a refreshed muse.
Life can interfere with those projects too. That’s been my biggest hurdle as of late. RL making all those plates warble and tip, more than a few have crashed to the ground. Instead of worrying about all that broken china, I’m going to put new plates on my sticks and get them spinning. All the glass on the floor is from yesterday, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a new day and a new set of plates and a chance to keep them spinning with a new set of goals.
So my ROW80 goals for this week are:
Write daily. Word counts are out the window for right now. Even if it’s only a paragraph that day, it’s forward progress through the RL chaos.
Write one article. I need to work on picking up the pace of some of my freelance work. Consistent paychecks can help keep some of my plates from warbling so much lol.
Write three blogs. Gladiator’s Pen is in need of new content. I don’t want to have a huge gap again in posts. I know it drives me batty when I subscribe to a blog and then… they stop posting. My apologies for making any of you nuts too J I’m going to try and prevent any more long lapses.
There we have it a set of goals and all the plates spinning with a few minor warbles but mostly balanced…. For now. :)
What do you do when your plates start warbling and crashing? How do you keep your write life balanced with that real life stuff?
I'm not sure how to keep it all going and my mound of broken China is growing quite large. Normally I scream, cry and generally have a melt down. I think it's ok to have a breakdown as long as you don't unpack and live there. Hugs and good luck from a ROW80 blog hopping friend.
ReplyDeleteI feel similar about my goals and writing. I get upset, but then I realize that each day is a new day, a blank canvas, and I remember my mentors words: live deliberately and with passion. If the story is not working I put it down and start something else, or I print up what I have and review it in print, or I try something else. I have so much passion that I don't want to loose it, so I find the most proactive approach and take it day by day. I also try to be supportive and inspiring to others because that often helps me.
ReplyDeleteHere's to an awesome week, Elise/ :-)