Mondaze
It was definitely a Monday. I can't honestly say it was a bad day, really, because some good things happened. But from the moment I walked out the door this morning, I was out of synch with the flow, the positive energy flow, like I was a half step off beat all day. Everyone has days like that, where you catch every redlight on the way to work. You're sailing along and a half-second before you decide "If it turns yellow now I go" and you start to hit the accelerator, it turns yellow and you back down and hit the brakes. It was like that today. A half-second off. At every light. Then at lunch I pulled into a gas station to fill up and just as I turned to pull up next to the pump, a dude comes in from the other side and beats me by half a second, so I pull around to the next pump and someone has just pulled in. Like that. All damn day.
I'm not whining about it - at least I don't me to sound like I am - I just think it's worth noting that sometimes one can be out of synch and there doesn't seem to be anything you can do about it but just try to minimize the damage, and keep "one of those days" from becoming a real shitty day. I think these are the days that have potential to go bad. For me, days like today, my temper gets a little short. Not like rage or anything, just cranky, irritable. And if I'm not careful, the day can deteriorate quickly into a bad day. So I've learned to watch my step on these days. My mojo is off kilter, so minimize the exposure. When my ability to groove with the positive flow is for some reason inhibited, I watch my step but keep moving forward. It took me many years to understand the cyclical flow of good energy, karma, what have you, and to roll with it when the rolling is good, and to step aside when I can't get the rhythm.
So today was kind of a damage control day, and it worked out okay. I didn't piss anyone off, nothing bad happened, and something that could have been bad, wasn't. So the lesson here, the lesson I have to remember, is we almost always have choices. We can choose how we act or react to the flow. When I'm out of step, don't jump into the middle of the parade. Back off, regroup, and get back in step. Nothing profound, but it's something I seem to forget. I figured if I write it down, maybe I'll remember it.
Peace and comfortable shoes...
posted by Wonderwood @ 4:58 PM
16 Comments
16 Comments:
So how did the rest of the week go, sweetie? Was it better?
Hey, Robin! Yes, as a matter of fact it turned out to be a good week. Thanks for asking. It was kind of weird, because up until around midday Thursday it didn't feel like the week was going all that well, but then some things came together and I was back in rhythm. Finished the week on a high note.
How about you? Good week? Productive week? Both or neither? Make any progress on the WIP?
Oh, and by the way, I found some advice on EE's blog that is working for me. I've been stuck in plot hell for a couple of months now, and EE suggested to Brenda, who was experiencing some difficulties finishing, to write the last two chapters. My predicament and Brenda's are different, but the suggestion made me think, "Why not try that?" And it seems to be working. The outcome is slowly emerging from the nebulous fog of spastic dysfunction that has been my plot vision. Thank you, Jesus. Oops, I mean EE. If I don't post again it means I've been struck by lightning.
Just stopping by to see the dude with the pecs. Are we gonna have to step outside, Wood?
BTW, I'm just entering the nebulous fog, so it might be a while on the next chaps.
BT! Yeah, that Robin's got some imagination, huh? LOL Funny stuff.
I figured you must be grinding since I haven't seen or heard from you, but keep on plowing, man. I've been stuck for two months, barely eeking out a chapter, but now I've got some clearer ideas. I'm still working on the last chapter, then I'll go back and write the second to the last, then start back at the middle where I'm stuck and try to connect the two. It's forcing me to conclude the damn plot, which is what I've been struggling with, but this is a different angle and it's helping me see it, finally.
Send me some pages whenever you're ready. I'll probably send you some new chapters pretty soon.
That sounds like a good strategy. I might try that and see if it works for me too. I've been reworking the plot with the new MC and it's made me realize just how weak it was before. I definitely need to shore up the ending before getting so far into it again.
Hey- are you guys in a two-man critique group?
Can I stay female and still join?
I need guys, you know, non-female humans that I like and trust, to read my manuscript (second draft), or most of it anyway, sometime in mid-March.
I don't wannna shout this out - because I don't want that many people to read it. I have my three 'female' readers set - I was thinking of asking you two to be the male readers- but this is even better- since you know each other.
So- would you mind? Don't worry- it won't hurt my feelings if you're time-strapped and can't see working this in!
By the way, you all, another thing that really does work when you're stuck is to stay in bed when you can, say on the weekend, and just lie there for a while with your eyes closed, about half-awake, no one around you talking or intruding on the space in your inner worldview, imagining your character moving along in whatver situation you're trying to work them through.
After a little while, you'll actually start to have narration and dialogue run through your mind, and often it's the kind of thing your conscious mind can't quite some up with. (In my opinion, it's because we're all dragged six ways from Sunday with too many things to preoccupy us to truly enter the world of our story sometimes.)
I swear to you that the first paragraph of my novel came to me almost whole that way. I hadn't been able to figure out the best starting place, although I had quite a bit written. I got up fast, wrote it down on an index card. It was perfect for what I wanted to 'say' to set the scene and character of my narrator.
Try it. And if some comes out a little jumbled and fragmented, write those down anyway, because they can be built on.
Hey Robin! Hell yeah, I'll be a partner with you. I'm in a similar situation needing a female reader. The way BT and I have been doing it, is sending 2-4 chapters at a time and giving each other as much time as needed to get back with a critique, but not a line edit. Sometimes it happens quickly, a day or two, sometimes not so much, a few weeks or so. If you'd like to try that, send me some chapters and I'll send you some.
As far as being stuck, it isn't words I'm short on, it's plot issues. I'm at a point where I can't go much further without knowing the outcome, and that's where I'm stuck. I go back and forth on a couple of different scenarios, playing out all the subplots and tangents in my mind and find I'm not satisfied with something, so I go back and do it all over again with the changes. I'm finally getting past it, after months of barely crawling along.
Your first installment is in your inbox.
Aw, I just read you were lonely without many blog visitors, so thought I'd drop by.
Hi, wonderwood! Hope this week is better for you.
Hey, McKoala! Thanks for stopping by. How's things down under?
I'm stepping away from my WIP for a coupla months to get some perspective. I've been at it for longer than I'd like to admit and it's gotten to the point where I dread even opening the file. So I'm goin on break.
But I do want to keep reading your chaps, Wood. Anyway, you can't leave me hanging now that you've got me hooked. And Robin, I'd love to read yours too.
I hear ya, BT. I know the feeling. It's probably a good idea to take a break, let the dust settle, then come back to it when things are a little clearer.
I'll send a few more chapters, I just feel guilty not being able to give anything in return, but whenever you're ready, I'll be happy to take a look at yours. I appreciate your help, you've already given me some great insights, and I'll gladly take you up on your offer to read more. Thanks, dude.
Don't feel guilty, man. I enjoy it. I wouldn't do it if it was a burden.
Great, WW and BT.
You'll see some soon.
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