Creative Doldrums
It’s almost the end of the first week of December and I haven’t written more than 800 words. The struggle with this is that none of these 800 words written in December have been on my work in progress, i.e. my NaNoWriMo 2016 novel. Sitting down to write is the last thing on my mind
I have the doldrums.
This happens often during December.
NaNoWriMo, with all of its wonderful energy and connectedness, is over, and writing once again becomes a solitary occupation.
And, then comes the holiday’s with all of the craziness they can muster.
Doesn’t it seem as if, no matter what you do, the holidays become out of control? How?
When all of this happens, being creative is a struggle.
Most of the time, all I want to do is wrap up in a blanket, watch movies and wait until December is over. Of course that isn’t necessarily a good idea. It is so hard to begin writing again if I don’t keep the habit up.
I have found a few things to entertain myself:
A capella holiday music. Pentatonix to be specific. This group is fantastic and I highly recommend them (www.ptxofficial.com).
Holiday lights are plentiful in my area and the drive home has been fun. We don’t do much outside (or inside) decorating, mostly because I’ve been known to leave my tree up until spring, and I really appreciate those that put the effort in.
Watching kids sit on Santa’s lap was great fun for me and it wasn’t only about my own grandkids. My work hosted the local Breakfast with Santa and I had the privilege to take the pictures for this event. My friend Amie did a fabulous job, as did Mr. and Mrs. Claus, in making this a wonderful day.
Though I am not going to be hard on myself for this struggle with my creativity during this time, I am going to keep focused on my goal – writing 500 words each day. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll finish that first draft by the end of December.
How do you stay creative when things are crazy in your life?
2 Comments
Joanne G
I’m not being derailed by Christmas, I am being derailed by a bad cold that seems to be sopping up my creative energy and time to take care of it. I’ve made the decision to let it have its way for a few days, but tomorrow is the day (my birthday) that I consider to be the beginning of my personal New Year. So, the “party” I’m going to throw for myself will be to step into my studio and close the door behind me, so I can selfishly pay attention to getting this New Year off to a good start as I stick and write for as long as possible. Then, I just need to remind myself that I only need my own permission to myself to do the same each day. The amount of creative time might vary each day (because there are a few other people I need to pay attention to), but I absolutely must develop the discipline to give to my creative self, stitches and words–this is a necessity and not a nicely that I allow myself. This is at the core of who I am now and it is my work now. Not sure that helps you, Angela, but this is what I am doing for myself to stay creative as things in my own life get crazy. Wishing you the very best as you work to meet your own challenges!
Joanne
AC Hoekwater
I love that you use your birthday as your new year. I often do that too. Creativity is a step by step process and I often forget about that. Thank you for all of your encouragement.