Dateline 9-14-2017

Why is it that every time I prepare myself for a productive day I end up getting a surprise visit from the family or something comes up to distract me from my plan. Yesterday I woke up nice and early in an effort to finish my daily obligations before noon so that I could then take a bit of a break before delving into session on in my latest attempt to write a second draft of my first novel.

I was successful with the first part of my plan, finishing my SNL review for the day around 1:00 in the PM which was a little late but manageable. I was also successful in taking a break, being that I needed a little time to switch gears from blogging mode into novel writing mode because I find it impossible to seamlessly jump back and forth between the two different styles of writing.

This break turned out to be a long nap that was so solid that it was obviously well needed. When I woke and was preparing to give the rewrite a go I received a text from my oldest sister that she was on the way with the kids. Technically, this wasn't a surprise visit, I just forgot they were coming. Even if it was a surprise, I could have easily just said I was busy and had to work because there are plenty other people in this house to keep them occupied so this isn't really a case of finger pointing.

As I said yesterday, I need to go to a pretty dark place for this specific content so knowing the house would be full and that I would at least have to drop in to say hi, I figured I'd either try to write at night or put it off for another day. Well, since I decided to put it off, I ended up hanging out and by the time I got back to my computer I was too tired to even think of starting.

They're still here today, as the reason for the visit was that my niece had an early morning doctor's apartment and sleeping here would cut out a two-hour drive through AM traffic. For whatever reason, I can't let down my guard and just get to work until they are gone because I fear that they are going to ambush me into doing something fun, interrupting my creative process, so I'm waiting for them to head out before I really dig into my day.

This delay to my day has me now thinking that I might put off the rewrite attempt once again because I'll have the house to myself this weekend giving me two days to work with little to no interruption. As I also said yesterday, I'm not all that concerned with the fact that I am procrastinating since it's kind of part of the process and once I do finally break the seal and actually start, I'm all-in until the work is done.

Now that I have this new game plan, I'm excited about this upcoming weekend of solitude because I can't wait to escape this reality and spend some time in a fictional world where I actually have some control over what is going on.

I know that all of this may just sound like a real long excuse for my procrastination but I do feel that when it comes to creative ventures this build up to start is actually part of the process and shouldn't be treated with the same negative connotation as putting off cleaning a room because though I am not actively writing the story is constantly on my mind while the clothes on my floor don't get a second of thought.

Alright, everyone's gone so it's now time to get to work and of course, I'll be sure to check in tomorrow with my progress.

Talk to you then,

The Wicker Breaker