Productivity revisited

Janet mentioned in one of her posts that she was having trouble feeling productive. Boy, do I know that feeling. There have been projects this year that just dragggggggggged and made me feel like my hands were in quicksand.

Now I'm working on a new project and I feel so productive. I'm totally in the world I'm creating, and I'm totally in tune with my characters. This is a 9 book series I'm crafting, and it requires a lot of world-building and complex plot shifts, so I'm actually plotting and trying to map out what happens from book 1 to book 9, and within each book and within each trilogy. Character arcs, book arcs, volume arcs, series arcs.

All fun because I adore these characters. These are people I want to spend time with, I want to be in their world. I enjoy my other characters (Molly, for example, is one of my BFFs and Jane is such a crazy lady I would love to sit with her all afternoon).

But the people in this book are my family. They're friends and their town is my town. They've been with me for years. I've done multiple drafts of their story and last year I decided, "enough already. Sit down and really write it." I take 6 months of every year to be with them and every time I come back, it's like coming home.

For me, that's what productivity is all about. Finding that sweet spot and enjoying it. I get it with my other books, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't come as fast and as deep as this series I'm doing. Savor it when you have it and don't sweat it if it's gone. It'll come back. Just give it time.

J L
(jayellwilson.com)

Why doe some chapters write themselves....

... while others are like pulling teeth?

I am 5 chapters away from finishing the 3rd book on my 3-book volume of my 3 volume set (yes, 9 books total). I set an arbitrary deadline of Dec. 31 to finish this 3rd book, and I have 5 chapters to go, but it is like sloughing through mud to get them written.

When I do write, it's going great. I'm pleased with each chapter as I finish it, but it's so hard to get the words out. It may be because I've been working, nose to grindstone, for several months on this and the end is now in sight. That's the "reluctant to finish" syndrome every writer knows.

I think it's because I'm not as close to this set of characters as I was with the others. The books follow two couples through a major journey and I'm working on the "secondary" couple right now.

Or I may just be brain weary. I'm not sure.

But I WILL finish this book by Dec. 31. I promise.

I'll report back later and let you know how close I am.