Treading water

I took a long time off over the holidays, and thought I would come back, burning to write - to write reviews, to write stories and to maybe eventually start on one of my three book ideas. Yep, I have great ideas for three different types of books, that in 4 years I have yet to put pen to paper on any of them. I also have a picture book that needs work to make it better. It's written, but the rhyme needs to be reworked (because I whipped it up three hours before a competition closed, so as you can imagine, the execution is a little crappy while the idea is solid).

I was very busy with a few fiscal and travel matters the last few weeks, but have now seemed to have dropped the ball completely for no apparent reason other than lack of motivation.  I have a backlog of reviews to write, and I seem to struggle to get my posts on prompts in on time. I have three short story comps ticking to deadline and none of my broken or bitter people are popping into my head to tell me their tale.

I think I just need to write, but I seem a little too good at coming up with excuses not to sit at the laptop.

I am finishing off Amy Poehler's Yes Please (This book is a must read for everyone, especially women and there are more posts still to come on her inspirational way of thinking). She talks a lot of passion and drive and has a saying, 'the talking about the thing is not the thing, doing the thing is the thing'. In my case, I need to remember the thinking about it amounts to naught, and until I sit down and write, it is nothing at all.

Doing the rounds of Facebook are Neil Gaiman's 8 rules of writing. I will focus on the first 3 (the full version can be found here):

1. Write
2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

It's tiring to tread water for too long, it's time to move forward, to finally swim.

Linking up with Things I Know and Weekly Wrap Up

PS Not relevant to the above, except the work of another SNL writer, but I've just finished The Stench of Honolulu by Jack Handey and it is hilarious. I can't remember the last book that made me giggle continuously out loud.