Depression, Dust Bunnies, and World Peace: A "Just Write" Post

It's one of those "just write" days.  The purpose of Life is Good is for me to practice writing.  There are days when words flow, and days when the dam is plugged.  There are days when all the jotted topics on my list sound easy to write about, and days when none of them seem like a good idea. Today is a dam-is-plugged day, but the exercise of writing daily is a good discipline, in my opinion.  So let's see what comes trickling out of the dam as I just free write...it was a favorite exercise in one of my writing classes in college...

Sometimes it's the tiniest of details which will irritate the living snot out of you.  There are days when the world's real, huge, scary problems overwhelm you.  There are days when you feel on top of the world and can do anything, and there are days when you can barely drag your carcass out of bed for your required duties.

It's no secret that I struggle with depression.  Well, at least not if you've read me for a few months. Depression is not knowing what you're going to wake up to, at least not with any sure-fire prediction.  Of course there are dark periods where you know you'll be in the pit for a while, and there are strings of days when you seem to be able to find that ladder after all and poke your head out, see if the coast is clear. 

However, the littlest thing can set you off.  I could list them, but if you're a mom, you probably have the same list.  It starts with why are the shoes 6" from the designated spot and not in the spot? There's a rug there.  For shoes.  You couldn't just take them off six inches further towards the wall?  It could end with why don't you just DO the work instead of wasting all this time COMPLAINING about the work when it could have been done by now?

Or there are days when little things don't hit your radar.  The situation in Ukraine has you paralyzed, because it's so messed up, and seemingly unfixable without more chaos and hurt and loss of life. Having met Ukrainians, and having your parents close friends with a lot of them from all their ISP trips is heartbreaking.  This isn't some far off conflict I can ignore while the dust bunnies make me crawl back under the covers.  These are real people who are suffering through this atrocity, and I'm helpless.

Helplessness is one of the big "feelings" of depression. There's nothing I can do, so I'm going to take a nap. Only you can't take a nap, because when you lie down you see the dust bunnies, but you can't GET the dust bunnies because of your physical restrictions, which leads to more depression because now you're helpless AND useless. 

It's an endless cycle, and unlike what a lot of people believe, just taking a magic pill isn't going to fix it. It might be the crutch or walker or wheel chair you need to get to the next place, but just as a diabetic can't fix their bodies' lack of the correct chemical production with wishing and hoping, neither can the depressed person fix the chemical imbalance in their body.

Ok, so a rant about depression, dust bunnies, the state of the world, and naps came out. Guess that's where I'm at today.

Do you suffer from depression? What are some of your pet peeves? Any ideas for world peace? I'm listening...

~Tina, just writing

IWSG: Ideas for When You're Stuck 2 - WIP

In last month's IWSG post, I gave some ideas for what I do when I'm stuck writing a blog post. Today I'd like to share my tips for what to do when you're stuck in your work in progress, your WIP. (Which makes me feel like a real writer when I say “WIP”, cuz, like, I know the lingo and all. I'm in the club!)

Maybe I'm not the best person to take advice from, considering I've been writing my first draft of my first novel for three years. What you need to understand though, is that I've really only been writing it about four months, if you count the actual time I've put into it.

I did a NaNoWriMo in secret. Got a lot done. That encouraged me, so the next February I did BuNoWriMo, which stands for Burrow...and you know the rest of the acronym. You can find them on facebook and I highly recommend you do because talk about a supportive environment! Got a lot done. Actually declared myself a participant and joined the banter. Same the following year. Then if I count the scraps of time I've invested that wasn't during a big, supportive push like that, and that's my four months. I'm at about 35k.

Just sayin', so you don't think that I think I'm an expert.

My novel is a sci-fi/thriller (which IWSG helped me realize when I was having genre-confusion – thanks wonderful folks!) and this rough draft is set in two separate time lines. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work out...but that's for the revising part. However, it leads to my first tip.

If you're stuck on a certain section, go write on another one. If the present is plaguing me, I go write a scene from the “back in time” part. If you're a plotter, you know what's going to happen, pick something you're in the mood for and write that instead of where you were stuck. Just because you're methodical, organized, and all those things I'm not, as a pantser (see, I really am in the club!) doesn't mean you have to write it in order. Movies aren't shot in order. (Now that's a club I'd like to join – screen writing...)

Go back and re-read what you've written. Maybe not from the beginning, but read a section. Bask in the wonder that is your writing. It's like finding a piece of your wardrobe in the bottom of a drawer and saying, “Oh yeah, I loved this shirt! Great shirt!” Instead you're saying, “Oh, yeah, that IS good. This is going to be a a good book. I remember that part more clearly now.” 

I get inspired when I do that. This might not work for you if you work more, um, consistently on your WIP than I do, since you probably remember all that you've written, but giving yourself a little pat on the back never hurts. Just don't edit what you're reading. (Not that I have that problem or anything...just, ahem, a warning...)

Write a scene that's key to the book. It will make you feel like you've really accomplished something. Yes, plotters, it might not be where you are, but you already know where it goes. Me? I have a vague idea what scenes might be needed to get where I think I'm going, so I go for something that might be useful later on. At least I'm writing!

Regardless of what kind of writer you are, you just have to keep writing. It's that discipline thing I talked about last month. JUST DO IT. Good luck!

~Tina

Alex “Ninja Captain” Cavanaugh  is our leader for this wonderful, supportive group. Don't forget we even have our own website now.  Be sure to check it out if you haven't already, and "like" our facebook page, too. I'm so impressed with what these talented folks are doing to promote this group! Encouragement month long is now just a click away!