How do you keep your writing life organized?

Starting a writing related blog didn’t sound like such a big deal, until I hit the “play” button. I started writing blog posts at the beginning of July, and had 35 or so ready to put up by the time I officially opened the blog. Then it felt like the second I started my writing time got sucked into blog land.

I’m not complaining. If it were really the blog I’d just shut it down. The blog just happened to be a great excuse to not work on what ever difficult scene was bothering me. Its so easy to tell myself I’m building a following, when all I’m really doing is hanging out with the people I know and love: Other writers.

Why write when you can talk about writing?

And it’s not as if I’m not actually writing. I’ve written 140 words so far, just typing out a new blog post. All these excuses are true, but they’re still just excuses. I realized that when I found new blog post ideas taking priority over how Elizabeth escapes from her airport nightmare.

I sat down at this point, and started reorganizing. New blog posts are to be written on weekends only. (I’ve got ten zillion of them waiting their turn to go up. It’s not like there won’t be a daily subject anyway.)

Comments now take up my morning, and writing has been moved to the evening. I kind of like that, because if I sleep in I’m not losing real writing time, and I don’t have to recheck my work for things I wrote in a sleep deprived stupor.

What’s your secret for keeping your writing life organized? Please share!

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Must…Resist….

Work on my story has come to an absolute stand still. All my usual tricks for getting through a difficult scene have failed me, and I find myself writing this blog post just to avoid working on it. (How’s that for procrastination?)

Don’t let procrastination fool you though. It’s not as if I don’t try. I open up my WIP every morning and evening without fail, and scroll straight to that difficult scene. I stare at it, scratch my head, and wait for inspiration. Nothing. I get out a notebook, and start asking questions about the scene. Nothing. I go back to the scene before, and check to see if maybe I got off track. Still nothing.

This is usually the point where I call up my muse, and have a rather long discussion with her about The Issue. We’re not calling it writer’s block. I never have writer’s block.

“I can’t figure out this scene,” I complain as soon as she appears in a sprinkle of fairy dust and the obligary tinkle of bells. “Elizabeth is supposed to meet a unicorn who ‘discovers’ her. She can’t do that with her mom right there. Can she?”

“I’m bored of this story,” my muse says, flopping down on the chair next to me. “I’ve got this new idea. I’m going to call it, Confessions of an Alchoholic Werewolf.”

I try not to look interested, but come on, what isn’t better than working on a difficult scene?

“He works in a dog grooming shop, cause thats the only work he can get. He starts hearing rumors of werewolves moving into his territory, a known peace zone. He’s got to stop them, but without being discovered. He–”

“I do enough dog grooming at work. I don’t want to write a story about it.”

My muse bats her eyes, all innocent. “It’s not about dog grooming. It’s about werewolves.”

I get the drift, but I’m not backing down. “I’ll type up everything you say and put it in my idea box, but only if you help me with this scene.”

My muse just smiles. “You’ll type it up anyway,” she says, and disappears in a poof of smoke.

You see what I have to put up with? I’ve written the outlines for three new story lines and stuffed them in my “hold” box. I’ve gotten no help on my real story at all.

But an alchoholic werewolf would make an interesting character, don’t you think?

Hmmm…