Oh, I really can’t be bothered…

On By Mick CanningIn India, Making Friends with the Crocodile, NaNoWriMo, Planning, writing

Having published ‘Making Friends with the Crocodile’, I do feel that I have succumbed to the temptation of sitting back and resting on my laurels. It seems to be quite difficult to motivate myself to write anything, and, strangely, it also seems quite difficult to motivate myself to do anything about publicising said novel.

014

I have tried to galvanise the other Work In Progress; my long novel ‘The Assassin’s Garden’, which already weighs in at some 110,000 words, but I seem to be very dissatisfied with anything that I write. I get too easily sidetracked from the research that I need to do, and everything that I read back seems to be somehow trite and uninteresting.

There are some short stories that I need to edit, one of them almost 15,000 words long. But do I feel like doing it? Nope.

Then there is a poem cycle that was going well…nope.

Even blogging seems to be much harder work than usual.

Is this some sort of reaction from finishing the other novel, I wonder?

But what about publicising ‘Making Friends with the Crocodile’? Surely there is plenty of incentive to do that?

Well, I have had a few reviews, and they are all very kind and generous with their praise, and I have the strangest feeling that I am so pleased with them, that they seem of more importance to me than sales.

Obviously, no sales would mean no reviews, so this doesn’t really make too much sense, but I do wonder if other writers feel this way after publishing a book.

Or could it just be because it is my first?

But, something clearly needs to be done.

I had decided to enter NaNoWriMo this year. This is National (Na) Novel (No) Writing (Wri) Month (Mo), which happens in November (No again?) and is internet based (So how come National? Search me…) and is a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel (Gosh) in the month of November (Phew!). This is generally in the form of a first draft, to be edited later at leisure. I thought it would be fun to try, and I had begun to make a few notes in readiness.

But in a similar way to the way that my idea for ‘Making Friends with the Crocodile’ hijacked my writing last year, held a gun to my head and forced me to write it, so my ideas for this other novel have rapidly snowballed until I knew that I had to make a start on it.

And so, I now have a new work in progress.

Again it is set in India, but this time there are two main protagonists; one Westerner and one Indian, and the story will be written alternately from their Points Of View. I have pretty well worked out the details of the plot, but let’s just say at the moment that they both change a lot as a result of their meeting (I don’t do spoilers, but I do try to do teasers!).

Hopefully, this will goad me into rather more activity than I have managed in the last few weeks, including now thinking up a new idea for NaNoWriMo.

26 thoughts on “Oh, I really can’t be bothered…”

  1. Hi Mick, Have you read Steven Pressfield’s the War of Art? Short read about how powerful Resistance can be in our lives. Perhaps that is what is happening with you. I certainly can relate to what you have described here. Resistance disguises itself in many forms; rationalization, distractions, procrastination, fear etc… it’s a tough one to beat for sure. None-the-less, sounds like an interesting read once you get there 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Pepper. No, I haven’t, although I have heard of it and also heard mention that it is a good read. I’m sure that, as you say, this is a form of resistance. I am extremely good at procrastination, however, ALL the time!

      But I do seem to be slowly getting over this one by working on my new book. It is very much a rough draft, but that is fine because I don’t have to worry too much about it all reading well.

      Many thanks for your comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Mick, it’s entirely normal! After the book goes live, I always “collapse” for a stretch of time. You’ll get your mojo back, don’t worry! Save your strength for nanowrimo. I’ve never attempted it for how grueling that schedule sounds!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I can relate to your procrastination; sometimes we just need a break, to switch gears. I’ve completed my fifth novel’s manuscript, and while it’s out with Beta readers, I know I should be slogging away at the blurbs, cover graphics, etc., but instead I’ve been working on another manuscript. I know I’ll eventually get down to business, but sometimes we just need to give ourselves a bit more grace. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m sure you’re right, Stephanie, and I probably shouldn’t beat myself up over it. I do know that I am prone to procrastination even at the best of times, though, so I probably am more aware of it now. Thank you for visiting and commenting.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  6. Mick, your reaction sounds totally normal after any intensive work period. I think the best is to rest up and go with it for a while -recuperate and then start full energised again. I remember after university exams I was so flat and low – at a time when I expected to be celebrating. Very odd. Wow – over hundred thousand words on your other WIP. What a great title! Good luck with NaNoWriMo this year. I am so impressed with participants. Have you started planning? I’ve read that is the key!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Well, now that I’ve started writing the one that I had planned for NaNoWriMo, I need to plan something new. I shall do that at some point.

      And I agree about resting up – most bloggers who have commented so far have said much the same thing, so I guess I need to listen to you all!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Good advice from all! I too know that flat feeling after completion of a major project. A rest’s a good idea. The risk is (as you’ve sussed) letting it last too long. But it sounds like you’ve started rolling again. Good luck.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I don’t think there is one, Jacqueline. But the advice that other bloggers have kindly put up here seems good. In my case, I’ve got stuck into the new work in progress, making sure that I put boundaries around my writing time, and it appears to be working.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.