Making Time Count! by DL Larson

With the holidays fast approaching, it's all too easy to put my WIP in a box and let it rest until the new year rolls around. Setting aside my writing sounds reasonable, practical even, but I've learned over the years just because I'm not physically working on my plot and characters' problems, doesn't mean I can switch off my brain. My mind is still churning, conjuring up twists and changes. It's so aggravating! I don't want to think about plot just now, I want to decorate my home, do a little baking, search through catalogs and stores for great presents for my kids and grandkids. I have outings to attend. I don't want to be a writer just now!

Unfortunately my brain can't stop, it's addicted to problem solving, with or without paper and computer. I discover answers I've been searching for - for months! I don't want to be a schemer right now, I want to enjoy the holidays, peacefully. My characters never take vacations, never leave me alone. They never rest.

So I've come to a consensus; I turn on the computer every day. I sit in my office or at my dining room table to appease my cantankerous characters marching around in my head. I write, I scheme, I plot, I do what needs to be done. Then I sneak away.
I slip out of the room how one eases away from a sleeping baby. Don't want to stir things up again. Best to tip-toe from the chaos of scattered papers, frantic notes and spent pencils.

All will be well until tomorrow and I'll have to do the same routine all over again. It's quite immature, my characters nagging me, but our system works, sort of. I've learned over the years, ignoring them creates a disasterous muddle. It's easier and more productive to give in and get words on the paper than to struggle weeks later and wonder if I've missed something along the way.

So how do you deal with your writing during the holidays? Do you face time constrictions that you don't normally have the rest of the year? Please tell me I'm not the only one with this dilemma!

Til next time ~

DL Larson