Getting Back in the Groove

I had five very simple goals for the new year.  They included running 1000 miles during the year, writing every day, and getting organized (including keeping my house clean).  I’ve stayed on track with running only.  My inability to get organized  has hindered my ability to write every day.  This weekend I was determined to get back on track.  I spent part of Friday fashioning a very specific list of things to accomplish.  I like lists.  I like crossing things off those lists even more.

By the end of the weekend, I was exhausted, but pleased.  I accomplished a good portion of the tasks.  I fixed the deadbolt knob that keeps falling off.  I cleaned the house to 85% satisfaction (which is satisfactory).  I did the laundry. I wrote.  I did a blog post for this blog. I edited photos for four posts. I felt accomplished.

The best part of this exercise was that I felt re-energized to write.  Finally.  I have been in such a slump lately.  In a three-week span, I think I wrote maybe three times.  I was definitely beating myself up about it.  But I just couldn’t force myself to go upstairs and write for thirty minutes.  I’d had some ideas about reworking a main part of the story, but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it.  I realized that having that uncertainty hanging over my head was a big part of why I didn’t want to write.  I didn’t know which direction the story was going in. I had to figure that out before I could do anything else.

So I spent part of Saturday doing just that.  I thought while I scrubbed, dusted, and swept.  The lightbulb finally went off, and the words and ideas have been flowing out like water from a faucet.  I thought of a few ideas for short stories and personal essays.  I’ve always had trouble finishing short stories.  I start with a concept and it quickly derails.  I think it’s because I just start writing with no sense of what the goal is.  For me, short stories need more structure.  It’s OK to have an outline.  I have high hopes for these ideas.

I feel like I’m finally back in the groove.  Here’s to hoping I can stay there.