Just a sample of the light I've been waking up to recently. They're a bit wonky as I take them from lying in my bed after grabbing my cell phone.
I've been finally doing some work/thinking on my book. Today I was supposed to be writing out another chapter. But in the way of these things I've had other things to do. Like write letters asking if anyone else wants to pay me to do some training, which seemed a fairly practical thing to do.
I know I'm putting off the book thing.I think I've only got one more huge chapter to write, and that will be on mindfulness. There are some techniques to write up on exercises to do to feel better, which won't take long. Then there is the stuff I'm thinking about. The bits of the book that are going to hold the chapters together and this is where I'm a bit stuck,cause I'm not sure where to go. I have two choices. The first is to use the poems I've written over the years between chapters, which will be okay if I can find the right words to connect to the right chapter. Or the idea I'm slightly favouring is to start writing autobiographical notes about myself.
The aim of this would be to try and put them in so as I can seamlessly move into the next chapter as I'm sure I've got enough to say about my own journey that would be relevant to the self help chapter.
I even know the first one... the one in which I write about when I first discovered I had a gift for helping people when I was 17.
But what is daunting is there are so many words written and kept in places on this computer and I don't seem to have the eyes to see them in connection with one another without actually having the bits of paper to put together in order. And here lies the problem ( well apart from the final push to write stuff!!) I need an industrial size printer to get this lot out, my little home printer would probably implode in the effort of doing so much work.
It all at the moment feels disjointed. Any work I've done of a similar size to this, like a dissertation or case study, has always been on real paper. Of course there may be a way to do this on the computer, but I don't know how.
So if any of you have any advice on either which of the two choices I use to hang it all together or how to allow me to shuffle paper inside a computer then I would love to hear from you.
In the meantime I will give myself time to write up the stuff I know needs writing and wait for divine inspiration on the difficulties!
9 comments:
In early December a woman in my writing group was picked up by an agent to show her book around to publishers. With only a couple more chapters to write she froze. Her words dried up. End result, she took a hiatus from writing and is feeling the juices beginning to run again. My point is I think when the time is right, you'll decide on what works best for you. Don't push it.
I've been trying to cull out things about my Dad from my blog. It is time consuming! But better than printing the whole thing!
P.S. Love the light and daffodils.
I don`t know enough about computers to help you here, Mandy. Maybe ask other authors, like Nicky (Absolute Vanilla) or Carol (Under the Tiki Hut) or Kathryn (Crystal)... there are numerous blog fairies who I`m sure can help you.
What I think about the connecting thing is that you ought to include some of your personal experience. Not all, or it would make a book of its own! But the part how in your early life you were discouraged by your teachers, and believed them, and stayed under your own possibilities, and then how you suddenly felt you were MORE and BETTER and SMARTER than what "they" made you believe, and that THIS is what counts: Asking, Who am I really, what is MY destiny? And then, very important, to go and DO something.
Yes, I think this part would make your book even more understandable and rewarding!
I am mostly with Merry Me as sometimes it does take a bit of time and the more you want to finish, the less it works. For myself I would consider the second option as personal experiences make it more real, genuine. Being able to relate. Humanness.
I like the idea of using personal experiences to meld the chapters together. In doing this you will make it more personal but also run the risk of perhaps revealing more of yourself than you might at some time be comfortable with.
How many pages do you have because the options could be different.
School isn't an option for printing as we have a security package on which picks up words like 'sex' and reports them to the headteacher! It's a real menace when I'm researching legitimate websites for teaching reproduction!!
Not my field of expertise Mandy, but know what my workroom looks like before a creative endeavour that roars along under its own momentum. I often think this is the hardest part,what shall to put where and how, but worth it in the end. Offering words of encouragement to you and wishes for that "aHA!" moment when you think "Of course!".
Enjoyed your photos. It has been so damn hot here.
I have no writing advice. I'm in awe of anyone who can/will/does write a book of any type.
Your morning light is beautiful. What a lovely way to wake up!
I think writing about your journey would help the reader see how the techniques can be put into practice and also show that it does work. I do, however, agree with Gaynor...make sure that whatever you share is not something you are going to regret later.
On the paper vs computer front I don't have any brilliant answers. When I was writing my dissertation I had notes everywhere and I ended up categorising them. I wrote a sentence which related to each section...then I printed out the sentences and moved them about when I was planning the structure. Not sure if that would work for you but it did for me (and saved me printing everything out)
C x
I think I'm with anyone who suggested 'step away from the computer'.
The energy comes when the energy comes, yaknow?
And if it's there and 'overwhelmed by the need to organize' is the problem--step away from the computer!
Approach it from a different spot--pull all the word docs together in a folder and go back at it again.
Maybe it's simply about putting them in the same format first and then moving forward?
*laughing* Yeah--I'm stepping AWAY from the computer now!!!!
Hello FB, It's been ages and for that I apologize ... I have been doing a lot. The etsy shop takes up a lot of my time. Like a blog it seems like you have to smooze a lot and some get people to vist... So far things are going well. I have started taking a mixed media art course and that is proving to be a very valuable thing... I want to work out some crap about my mom and her death and my life and what it all means...hEavy shit! Ha ha.., it all in all not to bad.. Wouldn't it be grand to meet up this year... I'm sure we'd have lots to talk about!!! Feel a light heart this year. I do hope all your dreams come true.
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