The whole image of Cosmo in the bushes, then him so happy to be strapped in and carried made my day. Maybe because I empathize with his exhaustion and joy of being allowed to be exhausted. There is a story there- a very sweet one about taking it slow and being kind to yourself and allowing others to carry you when you are tired. Just saying, I wouldn’t be mad at that book.
I, too, have also not met some writing goals from 2020, and have been working on a book outside of my typical style and so close to abandoning it (but taking breaks instead). I really appreciate all of your honesty and vulnerability in this post.
Ohmigosh, JULIE. It happened again, our mental states are all synced up. (Look at what I recommended at the bottom of my latest post.) I’m sitting here nodding my head to everything you’ve written here, because a change is coming, I can feel it.
Oh, man, Julie. And here I was, working hard on my pithy bio and mission-y one-liner! LOL! :) I think you already have your stuff figured out, you know? You know what you are aiming for when you write because you've written published books that (demonstrably) do that. I think many of us newbies are still finding our way; it's not that we are trying to distill ourselves for the socials...we are trying to clarify it for ourselves. You are trying not to be boxed in, but we are trying to find our comfort zone to build a foundation on. It's just different stages of a career. Anyhow, I'm excited that someday I might find my current thoughts too confining vs. daunting! :) That's a weirdly nice/reassuring thing to hear, even if I know it comes with its own frustrations?
BTW do you know about Spoonflower? They make artist designed fabrics. There are many people on there that have thousands of designs and color ways, but you can also design stuff just for yourself, have as many yards as you want printed and have your own fabric.
I do know Spoonflower! I designed some fabric with my first two book covers on it (long ago) and also have bought many, many (too many?) yards of fabric from them. They make such nice stuff!
It was so encouraging for me to read you struggled with your creative process during the pandemic, because I did also. I am just finally coming out of pandemic shell and starting to write again. Thanks for this lovely post.
Glad it's not just me, Pamela. I am really finding that post-pandemic, I have to make and remake my process. What used to work doesn't feel right anymore. Everything feels more dire. Plus the way the pandemic changed publishing has affected how I approach writing too -- like, is this even worth it? And I'd like to write without that in mind, but it does creep in, especially when I'm having trouble getting the words down.
I looked around during the pandemic and saw a lot of creatives producing their work and thought why am not able to do that. I would write in spurts on my personal blog and then fizzle out. At one point I read a great article in the NYT about how some artists need outside stimulation to create and the lack of social contact during the pandemic made it hard for some creatives. I knew immediately that that was the problem I was having. I was isolated, living alone and missing the social connections that drive conversation, that in turn drives my creativity.
And now, like you what used to work for me doesn't feel right anymore. I have a completed manuscript I had planned to do another revision check and self publish and every time I started to go through it, I felt less connected to it and the content and now I question publishing it at all.
We all want to know our writing matters to someone, when we're publishing here on Substack or anywhere, it's easy to think... Why am I doing this? Is anyone even reading my posts? Am I wasting my precious time in this wide open space filled with so many writers? Does my work matter? Etc... Etc...
I think a lot of us here are asking these questions. We're here to hold each other up and say to each other, your work matters. Keep writing!
I still remember, early in the pandemic, another writer saying on social media, "I don't know what you all are talking about -- I haven't been this productive in a long time" and it made me so confused. That was not my experience. (I had the opposite of isolation -- I have four kids and they were all at home doing remote school and it felt like trying to write during a windstorm of noise and interruptions.)
It definitely was easier for some than others to be productive during the pandemic. With four kinds at home, doing homeschool, it is no small wonder you had a hard time writing. Here's to better productivity for both of us!
Clearly you need to take a break from the "other book" and start writing an early-reader series: "Two Dogs in a Backpack"
A man with a British accent pointed out to his hiking companions, "It's a dog backpack!" and now I keep hearing it in his accent.
The whole image of Cosmo in the bushes, then him so happy to be strapped in and carried made my day. Maybe because I empathize with his exhaustion and joy of being allowed to be exhausted. There is a story there- a very sweet one about taking it slow and being kind to yourself and allowing others to carry you when you are tired. Just saying, I wouldn’t be mad at that book.
*not to miss the whole point of your post and say that you have to find a story in your vacation!
HA HA HA, yes, well, I wouldn't be mad at that book, either.
I, too, have also not met some writing goals from 2020, and have been working on a book outside of my typical style and so close to abandoning it (but taking breaks instead). I really appreciate all of your honesty and vulnerability in this post.
Ohmigosh, JULIE. It happened again, our mental states are all synced up. (Look at what I recommended at the bottom of my latest post.) I’m sitting here nodding my head to everything you’ve written here, because a change is coming, I can feel it.
Oh, man, Julie. And here I was, working hard on my pithy bio and mission-y one-liner! LOL! :) I think you already have your stuff figured out, you know? You know what you are aiming for when you write because you've written published books that (demonstrably) do that. I think many of us newbies are still finding our way; it's not that we are trying to distill ourselves for the socials...we are trying to clarify it for ourselves. You are trying not to be boxed in, but we are trying to find our comfort zone to build a foundation on. It's just different stages of a career. Anyhow, I'm excited that someday I might find my current thoughts too confining vs. daunting! :) That's a weirdly nice/reassuring thing to hear, even if I know it comes with its own frustrations?
I love this so much!
BTW do you know about Spoonflower? They make artist designed fabrics. There are many people on there that have thousands of designs and color ways, but you can also design stuff just for yourself, have as many yards as you want printed and have your own fabric.
I do know Spoonflower! I designed some fabric with my first two book covers on it (long ago) and also have bought many, many (too many?) yards of fabric from them. They make such nice stuff!
I have definitely spent more than I have made there. :-)
It was so encouraging for me to read you struggled with your creative process during the pandemic, because I did also. I am just finally coming out of pandemic shell and starting to write again. Thanks for this lovely post.
Glad it's not just me, Pamela. I am really finding that post-pandemic, I have to make and remake my process. What used to work doesn't feel right anymore. Everything feels more dire. Plus the way the pandemic changed publishing has affected how I approach writing too -- like, is this even worth it? And I'd like to write without that in mind, but it does creep in, especially when I'm having trouble getting the words down.
I looked around during the pandemic and saw a lot of creatives producing their work and thought why am not able to do that. I would write in spurts on my personal blog and then fizzle out. At one point I read a great article in the NYT about how some artists need outside stimulation to create and the lack of social contact during the pandemic made it hard for some creatives. I knew immediately that that was the problem I was having. I was isolated, living alone and missing the social connections that drive conversation, that in turn drives my creativity.
And now, like you what used to work for me doesn't feel right anymore. I have a completed manuscript I had planned to do another revision check and self publish and every time I started to go through it, I felt less connected to it and the content and now I question publishing it at all.
We all want to know our writing matters to someone, when we're publishing here on Substack or anywhere, it's easy to think... Why am I doing this? Is anyone even reading my posts? Am I wasting my precious time in this wide open space filled with so many writers? Does my work matter? Etc... Etc...
I think a lot of us here are asking these questions. We're here to hold each other up and say to each other, your work matters. Keep writing!
I still remember, early in the pandemic, another writer saying on social media, "I don't know what you all are talking about -- I haven't been this productive in a long time" and it made me so confused. That was not my experience. (I had the opposite of isolation -- I have four kids and they were all at home doing remote school and it felt like trying to write during a windstorm of noise and interruptions.)
It definitely was easier for some than others to be productive during the pandemic. With four kinds at home, doing homeschool, it is no small wonder you had a hard time writing. Here's to better productivity for both of us!