Sunday, December 21, 2008

Silence

I'm going through a strange time with my writing right now. I'm not, not writing that is.

OK, that may not seem strange, lots of people get writer's block. But that isn't what I'm talking about. It isn't that I can't write, it's that I seem to be processing, searching and sorting. I am trying to find something.

There are many things I can write about, many projects I can work on, but it doesn't seem right to do any of them at this time. It's like I am supposed to pull back and observe for awhile. I need to get my bearings and find the lay of the land before I move on. I must do this to know the direction I am to go.

There will be time to work on the already discovered ideas and stories, but right now I feel I am working on the landscape of my mind.

It's kind of like planning out a garden. The best way to plan a garden is to do it when you aren't doing anything in the garden itself. In fact, the best planning occurs in the winter when you can't go out and work in the actual garden.

This seems to be a winter for me in writing. I find I am drawn to the nebulous of an idea that wants birthed. So I am collecting, and making notes, and searching, but I am doing very little actual writing.

I'm a little insecure with that. Can I be a writer and not write? Does writing notes and thinking count? I guess it counts if I make the transition from that to something on paper. Hopefully that will come, but I don't want to force it, at least not yet.

4 comments:

MadeByAmanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MadeByAmanda said...

Delete Comment From: Musings

Blogger MadeByAmanda said...

I know what you are talking about. Especially given what a mess the rough draft of my novel turned out to be, I think planning is a good idea.

I had a stretch like that in the middle of it, too. I wasn't writing, and I felt like I needed to browbeat myself for it, but at the same time I was still working on it in my head. Things still needed time to compost.

I think what is really dangerous is when you aren't writing and you aren't THINKING about your work, either.

And maybe it would be a good idea to do something like morning pages, to keep you in the habit of some writing.

MadeByAmanda said...

P.S. - glad to see you starting a writer's blog. I'm thinking of doing a blog more focused on my writing, too.

Andi said...

Thank you Amanda! I like the "morning pages" ideas.