UPDATE?: I went on vacation (TO FREAKING SPAIN, SO VERY AWESOME, I CANNOT GET OVER HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS) and took about a two week break from writing and my story. And I feel....way better now! Totally reinvigorated!! I'm giving myself a few more days to recover from jet lag and then will be back at Project Death -- WITH A VENGEANCE. Sometimes we just need a fresh perspective to get out of the slump, and I think that's what this called for. Within long revision like this, I just need to make sure I'm taking mini breaks from the project. Lesson learned! :)
Being a clay artist, I have usually heard it referred to as “the gap” where your artist eye or tastes improved but you skill hasn’t caught up yet. It is a very hard stage to be at for sure ❤❤❤
What helps me to get out of a funk is to start by giving up and letting the funk ✨consume me✨, then setting up a fresh routine when I'm ready to come out of the funk. So last time I was in a funk, I took a week off writing (/being productive at all), took Wednesday - Friday off at work, and spent that time binging kdramas and jane austen movies and just generally being an irresponsible adult who didn't do anything except feed myself and my cat. That Monday, I started getting up at 5 and taking a 30 minute walk after breakfast, and voilà, I was more excited about the writing portion of my morning routine than I have been in years. Not claiming that'll work for everyone (or that everyone even has the chance to take a five day vacation from adulting) but it's been super helpful for me.
The feeling of being behind is one I struggle with almost daily. I've been working on the same novel for 5 years and still feel nowhere near ready to get it out there. I have to tell myself that sometimes things take longer than we expect, but it is really hard. I often have to remind myself of the quote from Hamilton. "I'm not falling behind or running late. I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait." That isn't an easy thing to remember. I also struggle with finding people to read what I've written/edited. I had three friends of varying skill/perspective who were willing to read my manuscript but then none of them really helped me at all. I got one response with feedback and then nothing when I sent more chapters. It hurt. And then you go into spirals of doubt. "Did they hate it? Is something wrong that they aren't willing to tell me?" When really it could just be that they are too busy to actually get around to it. But really... Writing IS hard, and the feelings we endure while writing can be even worse. Knowing now that I'm not alone makes me feel so much better, though.
I think it might be better to find people that aren't connected to us to read our writing so that the critique or disinterest doesn't feel so personal.
I can relate so hard to the part about feeling like "the more we do, the further away we seem to get from the finishing post". That feeling has just gotten stronger and stronger as I get older, especially as I just can't find the time to write anymore. I keep thinking "after X is over, I'll have time to write again", but there's never more time. And even when I find 5 minutes, 20 minutes, or even an hour, that feeling gets stronger, and I feel further and further away from reaching it. Great video! Keep it up, and hope you progress with your project.
I have advice for a funk. Register your writing sessions, note what you’ve done and your process, and give a score from 0 to 10 of how good or happy you felt writing and also note why you gave that score. At first you may find some low scores but you’ll eventually get surprised with the high scores as you change things up. This will make you realize the practices that are good for your writing and you’ll have written proof of how good writing makes you feel. Hope it helps someone out, it helped me get back to writing after 3 years of not writing a single word and I still do this every single time I sit down to write and my scores every month are 9.5 up :)
I really appreciate this video as someone who has a had a VERY difficult relationship with writing (and reading) for the past like 6 years, primarily because of my mental health. I'm at a point where I've just accepted that I can't write to the degree I want to because of life stuff, and have found other fulfilling creative outlets. I remind myself that living life and gaining experiences and insight is, in some way, a part of the writing process. You live so you have things to write about, and that's helpful to remember when you just cannot write, no matter how hard you try.
🥰 I'm so happy you like them!! My goal is to make people smile every time they see/wear them, so I'm glad I'm accomplishing that! 😋 I hope I can get out of my writing slump soon and swim around in revisions yet again~
I used to have that Ira Glass quote bookmarked on my chrome tab and would listen to it every time I was feeling down about my writing.Such a great reminder!
I was "in the funk" about two years. What got me out of it was journaling but not the kind that you have to write page or more. It was literally like three sentences each day and I got to write anything, usually I complained about something (at the beginning at least). Other part of why this was useful was that I forced myself to be happy about the times I did manage to write those three sentences and not beating myself when I forgot or didn't have energy to do so. Eventually I started to have moments of inspiration and those got me into writing long term again. Before I was struggling with the feeling of not making myself anything and had to find meaning in life in other places than me "achieving something". That's the hardest part I think because parents or friends or anyone is not going to give you that and most people can't even think why thinking like that could be harmful. Just hang in there, there is hope for everyone!
This is a wonderful video, especially all the points about rejection. There’s really rejection at every step, whether someone is published or not. Excellent content to help me and other writers not feel so alone! I’m not agented yet, but I have a short story being traditionally published in October in an anthology and I still feel like a big fraud. It happens!
On a writing funk: As mentioned by Mary. Here's what helped me, when I couldn't fix that last story and stopped writing; for months. I went back and edited my previous self-published novels. I enjoyed the stories I had previously written for myself. I haven't allowed myself to write anything for the shelved project and am now I'm keen to get back to it. The strange thing is, I write for the joy of creation; for the love of it, nothing else.
It's interesting this tendency for creatives to speak of struggle, of fighting their way through, of belittling themselves and their work (speaking of "potential"). It's very present in the Ira Glass quote. And yet, while it's true that honing your craft through practice is undeniable, I don't think the whole "struggle bus" mindset is needed. Who knows whether a certain work is good or bad, if you have good taste or not, if your work will find an audience or not, etc. In reality, and that's maybe because I'm slightly older and have gone through sickness, we live better and create "better" from a loose place, a relaxed sense of perspective and a playfulness where you put aside the imperative to be serious. And that's actually what you seem to underline in your comment about feeling better, more relaxed about your trip to Spain. Minus the part about going back to your work with a vengeance. I just don't think engaging in this violent resistance or fight with your work is necessary. Artists notoriously like to talk about suffering their way through their work but is it really necessary? No. Is it healthy and sustainable? No. As Stephen King pointed it out "Art serves life, not the other way around". If you can't find enjoyment during the process itself, in the present moment or creating even if no one reads it, without expectations, it's a pretty miserable endeavor. Expectations such as suffering / low key hating yourself as not good enough, or grind / waiting to feel good "later down the road when you get XYZ validation"... They're just not necessary. 99% of people writing, will not make a living out of it, especially in this economy and the society coming up. So let's just free ourselves from that expectation when we create :)
Thank you so much for this video Kate! It so resonates with me right now. I finished my first draft of my first ever fiction novel about a week and a half ago. It’s been this odd mix of pride and despair. I abandoned this novel…and writing in 2019 when it was about half done. I was working 2 jobs in a career field I was burnt out in and my creative well went dry. I never forgot the novel, and wrote it in my head so often it felt like it surely should have mentally transferred itself to my computer. 😆 I finally got back to writing during Nano last year and in January I determined I was going to finish that novel. I did and I was so proud for finally finishing it. However I also know it’s a huge mess and it’s going to need extensive rewriting and revisions. It’s been hanging over me so long and I’ve thought about it so much that I’m kind of sick of it if that makes sense. I know I’m not in the proper headspace to start revisions so I’ve tucked it away to get some distance. I am determined though that I am going go back to it , revise it, and eventually publish it. Not feeling alone in the struggles is part of what helps keep me going. Thank you for sharing your writing life. Watching your videos helped reignite the spark in me.
Maybe make a bingo for your story. Then you have a visual of your progress. And maybe celebrate your writing. Remind yourself of your achievements. A book is made of little parts. Youre moving forward with every word. Keep going 🎉❤
I definitely need to get better at practicing what I preach with celebrating milestones!! And a bingo board sounds PERFECT for that. I love that idea so much. I'll have to brainstorm some possibilities for the squares. Thank you for the inspiration!! :)
What I find I have to do each day purposefully... I have to forgive myself. I have to forgive myself for not writing, not meeting my goals, playing that video game instead, whatever it was. Because beating myself over the head with it and trying to punish myself for 'failing' does not help. It only makes me feel worse. So I let it go. I give myself grace. And the next day? It is a brand new day. The previous day or days (weeks, months, years) don't matter. My goal is there, fresh and new without the missed words tacked on to crush me. It is so much easier to write this way for me. I struggle with feelings of failure in pretty much every aspect of my life (and I know that they aren't true, but it is sooo hard sometimes), and those feelings can suck the enjoyment out of so many things. So, if I don't allow myself to label myself as a writing failure, I can face each day without the fear of failing. Because there is grace for my mistakes and struggles, I can keep trying. That, "I am just going to fail anyway," thought isn't there, holding me back. Yesterday I wrote 86 words out of my wishful 2000 word goal (haven't hit it yet! 😂). But I can look at it and say I made progress. I accomplished something. There have been times when my goal was one sentence. If I could just get in one sentence. Usually, if I sat down and wrote that sentence, I wrote more. There is something so incredibly freeing about writing. It is pleasing in and of itself, even on the days the words do not come as easily (though the days my fingers struggle to keep up with my brain are great).
There is utility in making space for smaller scale projects to serve as deliberate opportunities to actively finish something for the mood boost. Along with passively refilling the creative reservoir. Something important in the Artist’s Way, prioritizing the hardest & easiest tasks of the weekly 10. Betty Edwards makes the point that there are some cross pollination challenges that can be helpful, look without to feed the starving within. Just started John Truby’s Anatomy of Story (Anatomy of Genre is Ondeck) it’s fascinating how the Character Web provides some insight into Character Embryo & STC. It’s also fascinating what I’m seeing as I work through the Apple Music Classical primer (think: that Oblique Strategy Card prompting taking melodic elements & exchanging with rhythmic elements. The story hitting the beat might not be the problem, the chord progression might not progress the movement with the expected response.
As someone also in the revision process, the act of revising a novel is a specific kind of hell far from any other creative endeavor I've been in the midst of. This is no joke and really trying my ability/patience/desire lol
Sounds like your having a little bit of analysis paralysis, caught up in how far you have to go. Sometimes I try to focus on not how far I have come and not how far I have yet to go but strictly on how the writing feels. But I also am having my own analysis paralysis where I can't seam to force myself to do edits. Its all about reframing your mindset.
I think there is something to be said about temporary shake ups to your routine. I have always struggled to fit in time to write, especially since I moved out of my parents, it was easier back then because I didn't have as many responsibilities and stresses (HELL of a lot more stress!) as I do now. However, I have realised that a routine doesn't need to be a permanent fixture in your life, it can be as temporary as you like, the duration doesn't matter, it's the goal of the change you want to make. For example, in January I started writing in bed about an hour before I go to sleep and that change really helped and I wrote a lot. But, I only did that for a month or so and I am now on the hunt for a new routine, so far Sunday morning writing seems to be helping as well as diversifying what I am writing (I am doing an original piece as well as a fanfic now).
Completely relate as I try and sort out this second draft! Literally feel like I’m in a weird sort of limbo of working hard but making little progress? lol also love the earrings 😍 17:36 got me tho 🥺💚
You are definitely in the hard part of being a writer. But pushing through these parts is what separates you from those who just say they want to be a writer. It's always the stuff that feels like work that is the hardest to get through. Especially when you know just how much work needs to get done and there is no short-cut to it. You just have to push through it! But I guess if writing was easy, everyone would do it, and it wouldn't be as rewarding when it's completed. I wish you luck and strength as you push on through! Glad your trip was able to help!
Also things that help me get out of funks: Watching my fave movie/TV show or randomly flicking through my TV until I get emotionally interested in something random and watch that lol Music is a huge one for me. Music really stirs up scenes and ideas so if I’m feeling bleh I will literally spend a few hours listening to all sorts and singing my little heart out and just playing in my imagination lol They are my main go-tos, but if they don’t work, a tidy up/organisation of my writing area or some area of my house, then a nice shower can help. I feel ‘reset’ after doing that and ready to sit down lol If all that fails I just go to bed 🤣
These are all so good!! Definitely refilling the well helps a lot. Also I usually procrasti-clean, but do find that I eventually stumble upon a lightbulb moment! So maybe I should start thinking of it as part of the process bahaha. And LOL! Sleep is always a good answer.
I’ve never even gotten to a second draft. I always get distracted by a ✨shiny new idea✨ and fail to finish anything. 8 years of writing but no completed project to show for it.
Omg, i too have a tendency to not wanna write that story again when im close to being finished and have invested a lot of time for the previous project, and get distracted by the shiny new ideas😂
What you're describing reminds me of Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, particularly the last paragraph: "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
I have struggles with self confidence lately and it kinda hinder my progress a bit. I have a nasty habits of : 1) Always looking at what other writers are doing and then get pressured by thinking "oh gosh! why didn't I work hard enough like they did?" 2) Comparing myself to other writer in terms of their success and everything that I lacking. I have been in a spiral of negative thoughts for quite a long time and couldn't get myself out and I loss my interest to write (even though deep down inside, I know it is my passion and I cannot stop). And to be honest, I still am. I have to uninstall Twitter and Facebook just for the sake of not "encouraging" me to go read other writers' achievement that will somehow make me compare myself even more. I am not feeling any ill feeling towards them, it's just that I feel so small whenever I cannot achieved what others achieved that seems so easily to them.
I don't know if you've written much our published many books but I'm on the subject with another writer this morning of when you get in a funk and you can't seem to get yourself back on track and you're stalled out and can't right to finish a section or a part of or the book itself. It is absolutely directly related to you have lost your first love. Sometimes we have to recapture the feeling in the moment of the storm or the battle or the war or the tragedy or what it felt like when you were holding someone and they died in your arms on the battlefield. We still have to write about it but we can't if we don't recapture the moment. When we have to go back to our first love we have to get quiet and quiet our Soul and Spirit and go back in our memory and recapture the moment and feel everything all over again what it felt like when you first got saved. Then we have to relive the moment as if it were the very first time you felt that way. Then you write about it before anything distract you again. That's what we have to do with ourselves in Ministry over and over and over.
What could be fun, but some work to organize would be a secret critique manuscript exchange. Say, just the first 3 chapters or X number of words. You don't know who wrote it or who read it.
Just on the topic of AI creative works, I'm a webcomic creator and many people in the community are super worried about the impact of AI (and justifiably so) and although I can't predict the outcome for the future I do know that we as human beings can tell when something is missing it's "spark" or "soul" in any piece despite us not fully knowing what specifically is missing. Dang there are even works created by other people that are disliked mainly because it's missing this, it almost feels uncanny when we read/watch/play it. All I'm saying is that if people struggle to write about made up people I can't imagine how well any AI will be at it too
Sounds like you need: Leon Z Surmelian's - Techniques of Fiction Writing: Measure and Madness - Paperback - January 1, 1969 - I have hundreds of craft books this one tops them all. We craft Fiction stories to make order out of chaos. Reading fiction is easy - Writing it is another story all together - It's hard to do effectively.'
I've been writing more this year by doing random short stories every month (three friends have supplied a theme, an object, and a character, and once a month I pick one of each randomly, then have to write the story based on them) eg horror theme in a terraforming dome, a hammer, and garden gnome. Helps me get that start and I only aim for 1500 words so there's not a huge amount of pressure. But what I'm struggling with is having no reader/writer friends which means I have no one to get feedback from. I think offering myself as a critique partner somewhere may be the way to go but I don't really know what commitment this would require or whether I could meet expectations 😭 I really don't want to pay for alpha or beta reader feedback without having any type of feedback but my own first
I recently went through spinal meningitis which left me death. It totally derailed my writing for a while. How do you get yourself back on track?🎉 happy Mother's Day
Catching up on videos and realised I'm in the video and I felt a little shock as I forgot I put a message in the patron comments. I was like "that's me! Oh gods I sent that" Update. A few people have been reading and I'm feeling better
Haven't finished the video yet, but I'm digging those coffee beaded earrings so much. I too would love to support indigenous artists while also repping my undying love for coffee. Can you hook a girl up with the links?
YESSSS! ☕️ Should be all linked in the description of the video, but you can find her Etsy page here!: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BeadworkbyJordy She has some really great "making of" videos on her IG too! :)
@@KateCavanaugh Thanks so much. If she can hook me up with a gold or silver hook (I'm unfortunately allergic to all fake metals) than I'm so getting some. I just added them to my basket. Jordan said she'll check her inventory for me today, so fingers crossed.
Biggest concern is that I am focusing too much in watching content about the craft and not writing. Creating a TH-cam channel focusing on the persona I present through it rather than being a writer and write. If emotions are not controlled, they will be in control. I believe being private about your goals and having only a therapist that actually is paid for helping you is more productive that talking about it with people, family, friends, strangers, followers. It will end up only feeding any emotions/insecurities. TH-cam, and social media in general, can be very toxic to fragile minds.
UPDATE?: I went on vacation (TO FREAKING SPAIN, SO VERY AWESOME, I CANNOT GET OVER HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS) and took about a two week break from writing and my story. And I feel....way better now! Totally reinvigorated!! I'm giving myself a few more days to recover from jet lag and then will be back at Project Death -- WITH A VENGEANCE. Sometimes we just need a fresh perspective to get out of the slump, and I think that's what this called for. Within long revision like this, I just need to make sure I'm taking mini breaks from the project. Lesson learned! :)
That's so cool. I've recently moved to Madrid. Been here for 3_4 months. Hope you've liked the part of Spain you've been in.
So glad your vacation reset your writing energy, some times we just need a break😅
Glad to know you liked my country!!!❤
Being a clay artist, I have usually heard it referred to as “the gap” where your artist eye or tastes improved but you skill hasn’t caught up yet. It is a very hard stage to be at for sure ❤❤❤
Oooh, "the gap!" It's so comforting to hear people working in different creative mediums experiencing the exact same thing. Thank you for sharing!!
I am getting so overwhelmed with editing my novel. So I’ve had to do one chapter at a time but yes I feel like I’m treating water too 😢
That analogy from the Great Gatsby is the most accurate description I've ever heard about writing and writing goals
🌊🌊
I've seriously been considering getting that Gatsby quote as a tattoo 🌊
What helps me to get out of a funk is to start by giving up and letting the funk ✨consume me✨, then setting up a fresh routine when I'm ready to come out of the funk.
So last time I was in a funk, I took a week off writing (/being productive at all), took Wednesday - Friday off at work, and spent that time binging kdramas and jane austen movies and just generally being an irresponsible adult who didn't do anything except feed myself and my cat. That Monday, I started getting up at 5 and taking a 30 minute walk after breakfast, and voilà, I was more excited about the writing portion of my morning routine than I have been in years.
Not claiming that'll work for everyone (or that everyone even has the chance to take a five day vacation from adulting) but it's been super helpful for me.
The feeling of being behind is one I struggle with almost daily. I've been working on the same novel for 5 years and still feel nowhere near ready to get it out there. I have to tell myself that sometimes things take longer than we expect, but it is really hard. I often have to remind myself of the quote from Hamilton. "I'm not falling behind or running late. I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait." That isn't an easy thing to remember.
I also struggle with finding people to read what I've written/edited. I had three friends of varying skill/perspective who were willing to read my manuscript but then none of them really helped me at all. I got one response with feedback and then nothing when I sent more chapters. It hurt. And then you go into spirals of doubt. "Did they hate it? Is something wrong that they aren't willing to tell me?" When really it could just be that they are too busy to actually get around to it.
But really... Writing IS hard, and the feelings we endure while writing can be even worse. Knowing now that I'm not alone makes me feel so much better, though.
I think it might be better to find people that aren't connected to us to read our writing so that the critique or disinterest doesn't feel so personal.
I can relate so hard to the part about feeling like "the more we do, the further away we seem to get from the finishing post". That feeling has just gotten stronger and stronger as I get older, especially as I just can't find the time to write anymore. I keep thinking "after X is over, I'll have time to write again", but there's never more time. And even when I find 5 minutes, 20 minutes, or even an hour, that feeling gets stronger, and I feel further and further away from reaching it.
Great video! Keep it up, and hope you progress with your project.
I have advice for a funk. Register your writing sessions, note what you’ve done and your process, and give a score from 0 to 10 of how good or happy you felt writing and also note why you gave that score. At first you may find some low scores but you’ll eventually get surprised with the high scores as you change things up. This will make you realize the practices that are good for your writing and you’ll have written proof of how good writing makes you feel.
Hope it helps someone out, it helped me get back to writing after 3 years of not writing a single word and I still do this every single time I sit down to write and my scores every month are 9.5 up :)
Oh I love that idea! I’ve never tried something like that but it sounds right up my alley. I’ll give it a shot. Thank you!!
That's great advice!
I really appreciate this video as someone who has a had a VERY difficult relationship with writing (and reading) for the past like 6 years, primarily because of my mental health. I'm at a point where I've just accepted that I can't write to the degree I want to because of life stuff, and have found other fulfilling creative outlets. I remind myself that living life and gaining experiences and insight is, in some way, a part of the writing process. You live so you have things to write about, and that's helpful to remember when you just cannot write, no matter how hard you try.
🥰 I'm so happy you like them!! My goal is to make people smile every time they see/wear them, so I'm glad I'm accomplishing that! 😋 I hope I can get out of my writing slump soon and swim around in revisions yet again~
I used to have that Ira Glass quote bookmarked on my chrome tab and would listen to it every time I was feeling down about my writing.Such a great reminder!
I was "in the funk" about two years. What got me out of it was journaling but not the kind that you have to write page or more. It was literally like three sentences each day and I got to write anything, usually I complained about something (at the beginning at least). Other part of why this was useful was that I forced myself to be happy about the times I did manage to write those three sentences and not beating myself when I forgot or didn't have energy to do so. Eventually I started to have moments of inspiration and those got me into writing long term again.
Before I was struggling with the feeling of not making myself anything and had to find meaning in life in other places than me "achieving something". That's the hardest part I think because parents or friends or anyone is not going to give you that and most people can't even think why thinking like that could be harmful. Just hang in there, there is hope for everyone!
Dear Kate, you are living my dream life and I live vicariously through you!
This is a wonderful video, especially all the points about rejection. There’s really rejection at every step, whether someone is published or not. Excellent content to help me and other writers not feel so alone!
I’m not agented yet, but I have a short story being traditionally published in October in an anthology and I still feel like a big fraud. It happens!
On a writing funk: As mentioned by Mary. Here's what helped me, when I couldn't fix that last story and stopped writing; for months. I went back and edited my previous self-published novels. I enjoyed the stories I had previously written for myself. I haven't allowed myself to write anything for the shelved project and am now I'm keen to get back to it. The strange thing is, I write for the joy of creation; for the love of it, nothing else.
It's interesting this tendency for creatives to speak of struggle, of fighting their way through, of belittling themselves and their work (speaking of "potential"). It's very present in the Ira Glass quote. And yet, while it's true that honing your craft through practice is undeniable, I don't think the whole "struggle bus" mindset is needed. Who knows whether a certain work is good or bad, if you have good taste or not, if your work will find an audience or not, etc. In reality, and that's maybe because I'm slightly older and have gone through sickness, we live better and create "better" from a loose place, a relaxed sense of perspective and a playfulness where you put aside the imperative to be serious.
And that's actually what you seem to underline in your comment about feeling better, more relaxed about your trip to Spain. Minus the part about going back to your work with a vengeance. I just don't think engaging in this violent resistance or fight with your work is necessary. Artists notoriously like to talk about suffering their way through their work but is it really necessary? No. Is it healthy and sustainable? No. As Stephen King pointed it out "Art serves life, not the other way around". If you can't find enjoyment during the process itself, in the present moment or creating even if no one reads it, without expectations, it's a pretty miserable endeavor. Expectations such as suffering / low key hating yourself as not good enough, or grind / waiting to feel good "later down the road when you get XYZ validation"... They're just not necessary. 99% of people writing, will not make a living out of it, especially in this economy and the society coming up. So let's just free ourselves from that expectation when we create :)
Thank you so much for this video Kate! It so resonates with me right now. I finished my first draft of my first ever fiction novel about a week and a half ago. It’s been this odd mix of pride and despair. I abandoned this novel…and writing in 2019 when it was about half done. I was working 2 jobs in a career field I was burnt out in and my creative well went dry. I never forgot the novel, and wrote it in my head so often it felt like it surely should have mentally transferred itself to my computer. 😆 I finally got back to writing during Nano last year and in January I determined I was going to finish that novel. I did and I was so proud for finally finishing it. However I also know it’s a huge mess and it’s going to need extensive rewriting and revisions. It’s been hanging over me so long and I’ve thought about it so much that I’m kind of sick of it if that makes sense. I know I’m not in the proper headspace to start revisions so I’ve tucked it away to get some distance. I am determined though that I am going go back to it , revise it, and eventually publish it. Not feeling alone in the struggles is part of what helps keep me going. Thank you for sharing your writing life. Watching your videos helped reignite the spark in me.
This is such a great video. Thank you ❤
Maybe make a bingo for your story. Then you have a visual of your progress. And maybe celebrate your writing. Remind yourself of your achievements. A book is made of little parts. Youre moving forward with every word. Keep going 🎉❤
I definitely need to get better at practicing what I preach with celebrating milestones!! And a bingo board sounds PERFECT for that. I love that idea so much. I'll have to brainstorm some possibilities for the squares. Thank you for the inspiration!! :)
A bingo is a great idea. I will try that.
That sounds like a great idea, I am going to have to try that!
Great chat, and I loved your styling today! The soft lavender with the detailed black beaded earrings and the half up-do was so pretty! ✨🌙✨
Thanks
What I find I have to do each day purposefully... I have to forgive myself. I have to forgive myself for not writing, not meeting my goals, playing that video game instead, whatever it was. Because beating myself over the head with it and trying to punish myself for 'failing' does not help. It only makes me feel worse. So I let it go. I give myself grace. And the next day? It is a brand new day. The previous day or days (weeks, months, years) don't matter. My goal is there, fresh and new without the missed words tacked on to crush me. It is so much easier to write this way for me. I struggle with feelings of failure in pretty much every aspect of my life (and I know that they aren't true, but it is sooo hard sometimes), and those feelings can suck the enjoyment out of so many things. So, if I don't allow myself to label myself as a writing failure, I can face each day without the fear of failing. Because there is grace for my mistakes and struggles, I can keep trying. That, "I am just going to fail anyway," thought isn't there, holding me back.
Yesterday I wrote 86 words out of my wishful 2000 word goal (haven't hit it yet! 😂). But I can look at it and say I made progress. I accomplished something.
There have been times when my goal was one sentence. If I could just get in one sentence. Usually, if I sat down and wrote that sentence, I wrote more. There is something so incredibly freeing about writing. It is pleasing in and of itself, even on the days the words do not come as easily (though the days my fingers struggle to keep up with my brain are great).
There is utility in making space for smaller scale projects to serve as deliberate opportunities to actively finish something for the mood boost. Along with passively refilling the creative reservoir. Something important in the Artist’s Way, prioritizing the hardest & easiest tasks of the weekly 10. Betty Edwards makes the point that there are some cross pollination challenges that can be helpful, look without to feed the starving within.
Just started John Truby’s Anatomy of Story (Anatomy of Genre is Ondeck) it’s fascinating how the Character Web provides some insight into Character Embryo & STC. It’s also fascinating what I’m seeing as I work through the Apple Music Classical primer (think: that Oblique Strategy Card prompting taking melodic elements & exchanging with rhythmic elements. The story hitting the beat might not be the problem, the chord progression might not progress the movement with the expected response.
As someone also in the revision process, the act of revising a novel is a specific kind of hell far from any other creative endeavor I've been in the midst of. This is no joke and really trying my ability/patience/desire lol
My revisions feel like that too! I've been in revisions since January. 😭
Sounds like your having a little bit of analysis paralysis, caught up in how far you have to go. Sometimes I try to focus on not how far I have come and not how far I have yet to go but strictly on how the writing feels. But I also am having my own analysis paralysis where I can't seam to force myself to do edits. Its all about reframing your mindset.
I love your videos Kate. You pack in so much useful knowledge for writer strategies
I think there is something to be said about temporary shake ups to your routine. I have always struggled to fit in time to write, especially since I moved out of my parents, it was easier back then because I didn't have as many responsibilities and stresses (HELL of a lot more stress!) as I do now. However, I have realised that a routine doesn't need to be a permanent fixture in your life, it can be as temporary as you like, the duration doesn't matter, it's the goal of the change you want to make. For example, in January I started writing in bed about an hour before I go to sleep and that change really helped and I wrote a lot. But, I only did that for a month or so and I am now on the hunt for a new routine, so far Sunday morning writing seems to be helping as well as diversifying what I am writing (I am doing an original piece as well as a fanfic now).
Completely relate as I try and sort out this second draft! Literally feel like I’m in a weird sort of limbo of working hard but making little progress? lol also love the earrings 😍
17:36 got me tho 🥺💚
Yessssss, definitely a limbo! The worst kind of limbo bahahah.
And me too. 😢💙
You are definitely in the hard part of being a writer. But pushing through these parts is what separates you from those who just say they want to be a writer. It's always the stuff that feels like work that is the hardest to get through. Especially when you know just how much work needs to get done and there is no short-cut to it. You just have to push through it! But I guess if writing was easy, everyone would do it, and it wouldn't be as rewarding when it's completed. I wish you luck and strength as you push on through! Glad your trip was able to help!
Your content brings me joy
Also things that help me get out of funks:
Watching my fave movie/TV show or randomly flicking through my TV until I get emotionally interested in something random and watch that lol
Music is a huge one for me. Music really stirs up scenes and ideas so if I’m feeling bleh I will literally spend a few hours listening to all sorts and singing my little heart out and just playing in my imagination lol
They are my main go-tos, but if they don’t work, a tidy up/organisation of my writing area or some area of my house, then a nice shower can help. I feel ‘reset’ after doing that and ready to sit down lol
If all that fails I just go to bed 🤣
These are all so good!! Definitely refilling the well helps a lot.
Also I usually procrasti-clean, but do find that I eventually stumble upon a lightbulb moment! So maybe I should start thinking of it as part of the process bahaha.
And LOL! Sleep is always a good answer.
Living for that teacup!
I’ve never even gotten to a second draft. I always get distracted by a ✨shiny new idea✨ and fail to finish anything. 8 years of writing but no completed project to show for it.
Hurray!!!! Gotta watch it now!!!!
HI REGINA!!!! :)
Omg, i too have a tendency to not wanna write that story again when im close to being finished and have invested a lot of time for the previous project, and get distracted by the shiny new ideas😂
I like your new segment Coffee and Ka-tea
What you're describing reminds me of Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, particularly the last paragraph:
"I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
I have struggles with self confidence lately and it kinda hinder my progress a bit. I have a nasty habits of :
1) Always looking at what other writers are doing and then get pressured by thinking "oh gosh! why didn't I work hard enough like they did?"
2) Comparing myself to other writer in terms of their success and everything that I lacking.
I have been in a spiral of negative thoughts for quite a long time and couldn't get myself out and I loss my interest to write (even though deep down inside, I know it is my passion and I cannot stop). And to be honest, I still am. I have to uninstall Twitter and Facebook just for the sake of not "encouraging" me to go read other writers' achievement that will somehow make me compare myself even more. I am not feeling any ill feeling towards them, it's just that I feel so small whenever I cannot achieved what others achieved that seems so easily to them.
I don't know if you've written much our published many books but I'm on the subject with another writer this morning of when you get in a funk and you can't seem to get yourself back on track and you're stalled out and can't right to finish a section or a part of or the book itself. It is absolutely directly related to you have lost your first love. Sometimes we have to recapture the feeling in the moment of the storm or the battle or the war or the tragedy or what it felt like when you were holding someone and they died in your arms on the battlefield. We still have to write about it but we can't if we don't recapture the moment. When we have to go back to our first love we have to get quiet and quiet our Soul and Spirit and go back in our memory and recapture the moment and feel everything all over again what it felt like when you first got saved. Then we have to relive the moment as if it were the very first time you felt that way. Then you write about it before anything distract you again. That's what we have to do with ourselves in Ministry over and over and over.
What could be fun, but some work to organize would be a secret critique manuscript exchange. Say, just the first 3 chapters or X number of words. You don't know who wrote it or who read it.
Oooooh, let me ruminate on this!!
Just on the topic of AI creative works, I'm a webcomic creator and many people in the community are super worried about the impact of AI (and justifiably so) and although I can't predict the outcome for the future I do know that we as human beings can tell when something is missing it's "spark" or "soul" in any piece despite us not fully knowing what specifically is missing. Dang there are even works created by other people that are disliked mainly because it's missing this, it almost feels uncanny when we read/watch/play it.
All I'm saying is that if people struggle to write about made up people I can't imagine how well any AI will be at it too
Sounds like you need: Leon Z Surmelian's - Techniques of Fiction Writing: Measure and Madness - Paperback - January 1, 1969 - I have hundreds of craft books this one tops them all. We craft Fiction stories to make order out of chaos. Reading fiction is easy - Writing it is another story all together - It's hard to do effectively.'
I've been writing more this year by doing random short stories every month (three friends have supplied a theme, an object, and a character, and once a month I pick one of each randomly, then have to write the story based on them) eg horror theme in a terraforming dome, a hammer, and garden gnome. Helps me get that start and I only aim for 1500 words so there's not a huge amount of pressure.
But what I'm struggling with is having no reader/writer friends which means I have no one to get feedback from. I think offering myself as a critique partner somewhere may be the way to go but I don't really know what commitment this would require or whether I could meet expectations 😭 I really don't want to pay for alpha or beta reader feedback without having any type of feedback but my own first
All the arts are hard, if it were not, everyone would do it, Fiction writing is the hardest gig out there 😯
I recently went through spinal meningitis which left me death. It totally derailed my writing for a while. How do you get yourself back on track?🎉 happy Mother's Day
Tea with Me!
OMG TEA WITH ME. I LOVE IT.
Catching up on videos and realised I'm in the video and I felt a little shock as I forgot I put a message in the patron comments.
I was like "that's me! Oh gods I sent that"
Update. A few people have been reading and I'm feeling better
Haven't finished the video yet, but I'm digging those coffee beaded earrings so much. I too would love to support indigenous artists while also repping my undying love for coffee. Can you hook a girl up with the links?
YESSSS! ☕️ Should be all linked in the description of the video, but you can find her Etsy page here!: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BeadworkbyJordy
She has some really great "making of" videos on her IG too! :)
@@KateCavanaugh Thanks so much. If she can hook me up with a gold or silver hook (I'm unfortunately allergic to all fake metals) than I'm so getting some. I just added them to my basket. Jordan said she'll check her inventory for me today, so fingers crossed.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
"Caffeinate with Kate"
My main concern is that I am a Christian, conservative white women trying to break into a far left industry that is hostile towards people like me. 🙁
Biggest concern is that I am focusing too much in watching content about the craft and not writing. Creating a TH-cam channel focusing on the persona I present through it rather than being a writer and write. If emotions are not controlled, they will be in control. I believe being private about your goals and having only a therapist that actually is paid for helping you is more productive that talking about it with people, family, friends, strangers, followers. It will end up only feeding any emotions/insecurities. TH-cam, and social media in general, can be very toxic to fragile minds.
I would love to see you to come to church good hope as a guest speaker