Please enjoy this
clip to get you in the mood for today's post.
Just push play. I'll wait.
Funny, right?
I would think so, too...If it wasn't my life.
This is my project for the week.
I must make all of this fit somewhere in here.
And trust me, this is a "good" picture of this room. There is so much lurking out of the camera range, it makes me want to cry.
Kind of like doing revisions.
I am taking a class from
Candace Havens .
I just finished what she calls
REVISION HELL.
Whileavoiding the closet pondering ideas of great meaning, I was struck by how similar the process revision is to cleaning out my closet.
Step One:
Feeling overwhelmed
I walked by said closet probably ten times, opened the door, sighed, closed it
I opened my WIP probably ten times, changed two words, sighed, checked Twitter.
,
Step Two:
Planning
I have been researching closet organizational options, mentally deciding where things should go, giving myself pep talks: "I'm sure there isn't actually a troll living in there."
I made notes for my WIP, mentallyworked through scenes and dialogues, gave myself pep talks: "Candy is going to kick your butt if you don't get this done."
Step Three:
Going in
I made work on the room that the closet stuff needs to inhabit. It's like one of the those puzzles were you have to move everything else to move piece. I told myself I only had to work for 15 minutes. I ended up working over an hour.
I made myself sit down and do my Revision Hell process. It took a couple of hours a day, but it was worth it. I finished the whole WIP. It will need this process again. I know that, but I also know that I can do it. Hopefully, that will make steps one and two less intimidating.
Kind of like doing revisions.
I am taking a class from
Candace Havens .
I just finished what she calls
REVISION HELL.
While
Step One:
Feeling overwhelmed
I walked by said closet probably ten times, opened the door, sighed, closed it
I opened my WIP probably ten times, changed two words, sighed, checked Twitter.
,
Step Two:
Planning
I have been researching closet organizational options, mentally deciding where things should go, giving myself pep talks: "I'm sure there isn't actually a troll living in there."
I made notes for my WIP, mentallyworked through scenes and dialogues, gave myself pep talks: "Candy is going to kick your butt if you don't get this done."
Step Three:
Going in
I made work on the room that the closet stuff needs to inhabit. It's like one of the those puzzles were you have to move everything else to move piece. I told myself I only had to work for 15 minutes. I ended up working over an hour.
I made myself sit down and do my Revision Hell process. It took a couple of hours a day, but it was worth it. I finished the whole WIP. It will need this process again. I know that, but I also know that I can do it. Hopefully, that will make steps one and two less intimidating.
So, what did I learn from all of this?
- Eat the elephant one bite at a time, or if you aren't into pachyderms, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. In otherwords, quit staring at it and get started.
- Nothing can make you feel inferior without your consent. (I may have paraphrased a bit) or, plan your work and work your plan. I needed to think and process what needed to be done. Stressing over it and dreading the tedious process ahead did nothing positive for me.
- Rome wasn't built in a day. I gave myself plenty of time to work on the revisions. I took breaks when my brain locked or my butt went to sleep from sitting in this chair too long. I am giving myself a week to complete the closet to playroom transfer. Burnout isn't productive.
What elephants do you have on your plate?
Done any revising lately?
Side note: I am looking for authors to be featured on Tell Me Your Story Tuesday. If you would like to be interviewed, or know anyone who might, please email me!
1 comment:
I find that when I have big "thinking" jobs to do...like revising (or, ahem, actually writing) something, I am pretty motivated to get closets and drawers cleaned up. And vice versa.
It's an interesting balancing act. Kind of like, if i have 15 things on my to-do list, I can usually get about 12 of them done. If I have five things, I can do 2. If I only have 3 things on my list? I check Twitter.
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