Looking back, I can split August into two distinct creative phases: for the first couple of weeks, everything was… slow. I was getting some work done, but not as much as I wanted, and I wasn’t really into any of it.
Mostly, it was because I had a week’s vacation scheduled for the middle of the month, and I didn’t want to get too deep into anything, only to lose my momentum. It wasn’t a conscious thing, but… I know that it was there. (It’s kind of a habit for me, and not one I’m happy with.)
That said: the vacation was actually helpful. I got out nearly every day to take pictures, and I’m really happy with some of them. (I’m still going through them all and editing the best ones. More on that soon.) I was able to spend some time thinking about my writing projects, coming up with some new ideas (and finding the story in a concept I’ve been thinking about for a while), and starting to make my plans for this year’s National Novel Writing Month. I also took the opportunity to reevaluate some of the productivity systems I’ve been using… or start to, at least. I revamped my to-do list, (finally!) found a pomodoro timer that I like, and I’m looking into a few other things.
And now I’m back, and the second half of the month has felt really creative and productive. I’ve been easing back into a freewriting routine that works for me (and coming up with a few scenes that I really like, even if I don’t have stories for them yet), and editing pictures, and starting to do the real work on the NaNo prep.
Or… I thought I was. I’ve been 99% certain that I knew what I wanted to write this year, and it was just a matter of doing the prep. I even broke it down step-by-step, so I can come up with an outline that works without getting freaked out at the amount of work that I need to do in the next two months. But then I suddenly thought that maybe I should rewrite last year’s story, since that’s been giving me trouble, and… ugh. Now I don’t know what I want to do.
Which leads me into the plan for September. I’ve got a massive amount of prep to do for NaNo, whichever story I decide to write. I’ve got photos to edit. I’ve (unexpectedly) got a website to migrate and redesign. I’ve fallen behind on my Project 365 posts again and I really want to get back on track with that.
It’s going to be a busy month.
And somehow, I’m ok with that.
Reghan Skerry 