by Isabel Sharpe

Monday May 12th was the day I’d assigned myself to start my next project. Either I was going to brainstorm a new proposal or begin writing a novella that isn’t due until August. That morning I woke up, cranky and scattered. The house was a mess, I was recently returned from a European trip, still slightly jetlagged, had bills to pay, a website to update, a blog article to write . . . and so on. But none of that was as important as the writing, right? Time to sit down and get a start. Right?

No, actually. I’ve been at this long enough to understand myself and my moods. Toward the end of a deadline, tasks and mess can pile up and I happily ignore them, because the story is consuming me and getting it done is all I care about. But there are times, at the beginning of a project or in the middle if the story feels like it’s falling apart which it invariably does at some point, when that pile of undone duties can function like a three-hundred pound hat. I’m always aware of it, uncomfortable, and unable to feel balanced or do anything easily.

So that morning, Monday May 12th, my first day of writing, I didn’t write. I tidied and vacuumed the house, paid the bills, caught up on e-mail, a lot of which (but okay, not all) was for business, wrote the article, mailed things that needed mailing, did errands and a zillion other little piddly things that were driving me crazy left undone. I went to bed tired and satisfied, and the next day I was able to dive in, clear-headed, happy and relaxed, and get lots of good work done.

Other times, emotional problems are eating away at my concentration, problems with friends, lovers, ex-husband, family, children, yada yada. Getting that mental clutter tidied away is harder. If you can’t fix it with a phone call or e-mail, deep breathing, yoga or meditation can often settle your mind, then playing music you enjoy can fill in that sometimes-hostile silence that starts your thoughts churning in unhealthy ways.

Another tip-I shower, dress decently every day and put on make-up. Because if I feel (or look or smell) terrible, then I don’t have a healthy work ethic, because if I look like a lazy bum why not act like one? And don’t discount the hormonal cycle which has us women in its grip all month long, some more than others. I do my best writing in the weeks after the energetic estrogen surge, when calming progesterone kicks in.

Bottom line: The answer isn’t always looking outward for motivation to write. Get to know yourself. Understand your mental processes and your moods. Learn when your brain is being immature and whiny and needs discipline, and when it’s really begging for a legitimate and necessary (and therefore productive) break.

Note from Ally: Okay folks, you heard the woman. Get your house in order. Get dressed, no PJs people! And then report in. We want challenge totals!

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