Hey, so this is a not-so-interesting list of things that happen to me and the process I go through when I'm writing (or at least trying to write). A lot of it is mostly complaining. Sorry. I was trying to finish rewriting Chapter 2 of "In A Turtle's Eyes" but kept getting writer's block, so I'm gonna use this list to chill and refocus. Sorry if you find this part boring...
Stuff That Happens:
-- I actually write (it's great!).
-- I get a song stuck in my head that does NOT correspond to the tone of what I'm writing, so I pull it up on YouTube and totally zone out for a few minutes while I listen to it. Right now I'm hooked on AmaLee's version of "Asphyxia" (if you're reading this, thanks for that PJ...).
-- My brain feels like mush from being tired because I have a terrible sleep schedule that involves waking up several times per night for more than an hour at a time. Makes it hard to focus on what I'm writing. So yeah, that sucks.
-- My eyes want to DIE from looking at my laptop screen for hours while it's dark. Also sucks.
-- PEOPLE WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE. I live with my parents and my five younger siblings. I'm the oldest child. I rarely get a moment of peace and can barely sit down for five minutes before somebody is yelling my name. It's lovely.
-- I get sucked into late-night conversations during the hours I usually devote to writing (you know who you are). Those are usually the most interesting conversations I have all day, though, so this one isn't a complaint.
-- My stomach randomly decides that I need to eat. Sometimes I ignore it and keep writing for a while longer. Sometimes I immediately close the laptop and raid the fridge and/or cupboards, only to be disappointed because I don't want anything we have. (I wish Chick-fil-A delivered...)
-- My dad randomly decides to teach me valuable life lessons in the form of deep, hour-long conversations. Or he just starts talking, and I stupidly keep asking questions because I like talking with my dad (he's pretty awesome), even though I kind of want the conversation to end so I can go back to what I was working on.
-- THE TV IS ON. And I watch it. Because sometimes watching "Parks and Recreation," "Friends," and "The Big Bang Theory" is more entertaining than staring blankly at the laptop screen. Even though I've already seen the episode that's on.
-- I have a million ideas rattling around in my brain, so it's REALLY hard for me to just focus on one (especially a full-length novel like "In A Turtle's Eyes"--from here on referred to as IATE). To get it out of the way, I'll write down the new ideas, but then I'll get sucked in and start actually writing them out. Seriously, I've got like five unpublished parts for this book that I'm working on in addition to IATE plus another writing project on the side. Also, I'm plotting out the sequel to IATE, and I keep writing down scenes and details for that.
-- I will look up the definitions of words that I already know because I'm questioning my intelligence. Plus, if you type into Google "define [insert word here]," it pulls up the word with the correct spelling, the definition, an example of its usage in a sentence, and a list of synonyms. It's super useful.
-- I backspace a lot while I'm writing in order to fix errors (<-- I literally just did it here) because I can't focus on what I'm doing when I see the little squiggly red lines. I should figure out how to turn those off...
-- Loud people. Seriously, I live with a very loud family (I'm very loud too but not when I'm writing). When I was seven and I started reading, I developed the extremely useful ability to tune people out. But they're still loud. As a result, when I'm not completely focused, I pay attention to them, which doesn't make it any easier to write.
-- SOMEBODY BUMPS MY MOUSE AND I FREAK OUT BECAUSE WHAT IF I LOSE EVERYTHING I JUST WROTE?!?!?!?!?!? (Oh, yeah, Wattpad saves automatically...)
-- I remember that there's also a million other things that I want to do/get better at/learn to do but not enough hours in the day and I get kinda stressed out and then I'm just like "Screw it, I don't even care, guess I'm not gonna become a good artist or learn sign language or crochet enough hats to sell at a craft show or study so that I can pass my driving test the first time I take it. Maybe next year." (Okay, I'm not going to put the driving test thing off until next year. I would straight up lose my mind if I was stuck relying on my parents to drive me around for a whole other year. And I'm too terrified of creepy people and stalkers to even consider public transportation. No way. Not safe.)
-- I tell myself, "Okay, I'm going to get this part written and edited so I can have it published by [insert date here]," then I wait too long and don't give myself enough time for rewrites and edits, so I end up publishing the part WAAAAAY later than I planned (sorry!).
-- I look at how many words I've written so far and have a "Holy crap, wow, how did I write that much?" moment.
-- Alternately, I look at how many words I've written so far and have a "Wait, I feel like I should have a higher word count than that..." moment.
-- I don't write. I look at what I'm working on and feel zero motivation to keep writing. That's usually the biggest indicator that I need to sleep. And yet I don't go to sleep because everybody else is still awake, so I have to stay awake. There's nothing like being tired of being tired that makes me want to beat my head on the wall and chuck something at my brothers and cry and collapse on the floor for a twelve-hour nap, all at the same time. Best thing in the world!
I know there's more, but I can't think of anything else to add right this minute. Maybe I'll update the list at some point. I don't know. This was kinda fun though (at least, it was for me).
Thank you for taking the time to read my ranting and rambling. You're an awesome person -- don't let anybody tell you otherwise!
Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight! And if I don't see you later, good morning and good afternoon! (yes I know that's not exactly what he says)
YOU ARE READING
Bits of Dreams: One Shots, Quotes, and Other Random Writings
RandomThis is a super-random collection of especially vivid dreams and little ideas I've had. I needed to get them out of my head because they were just taking up too much space. Hence this book. Also, there will be some sporadic poems in here. And random...