I mentioned in April or March that I realized that I was stuck in a rut. And at the same time, I spent a nice amount of time before that complaining on both this and my writing blog that I've been struggling to get things done.
It felt at the time like I was spinning my wheels with no real hope of getting anywhere.
Once I started working on getting out of my rut, I started moving. Yep. Doing other things like meeting new people, driving around, reading etc. all helped me get through my edits, and much faster than I thought possible.
I did a huge revision to my book, and it didn't take me a month to finish, and the book is 300 pages long.
So how is it possible that I finished my revisions faster by not focusing on them?
Well. The book I needed to revise is The Heir's Choice. And if you've kept track of my going's on since about December, you'll know that I was supposed to edit this book last year already. Except things went south with my publisher.
The thing is that my emotions and thoughts came so entangled in the souring relationship with my publisher that no matter how long I focused on editing, no editing could be done. Not for as long as my concentration kept going to the crap going on around the book.
The lucky thing for me was that I spotted that I was in a rut around the same time as I got the rights to my book back from my publisher.
Once I decided to get out the rut, I could change my perspective.
I'd been looking at the bad stuff associated with the book so much that I couldn't even think of making the book itself better. It took me doing all sorts of other things in order to pull back enough and see the good things as well.
And when I did, I could actually function the way I'm supposed to.
So if you're stuck and can't seem to do what you know you should, maybe all you need to do is do something new instead. Just to get that much needed change in perspective.
Anyone else find that doing completely unrelated things helps you do things you're struggling with?
Oh yeah! Before I go:
Weight: 91.5kg (201lb 11.6oz)
Total lost: 14.2kg (31lb 4.9oz)
BMI: 31.66
Oh yeah! Before I go:
Weight: 91.5kg (201lb 11.6oz)
Total lost: 14.2kg (31lb 4.9oz)
BMI: 31.66
6 comments:
Hey, Misha,
Sorry to hear about things not going well with your publisher. But it sounds like you did the right thing by focusing on other things. That often helps. Whether it's getting out of town for a while, visitinig friends, or working on something new, it all helps to clear the mind. I had to take a break from my blog for a long, long time because things happeened after my mini hiatus which made it a major hiatus. But now I've finished two books and am preparing to self-publish. Exciting times, and well done to you.
DUO
I definitely feel like getting away from our work is necessary before revising. If you're too close to it, you can't see it objectively. Glad you got out of your rut!
I'm glad you are pulling out of your rut, Misha. I often feel like I get in a rut and. like you, find taking a step in any direction is a step in the right direction because it's a move away from where i am stuck. My kids get stuck when they are looking for something and they expect mom to find it. For them, its usually taking a step away from looking and toward just cleaning up, so a step in a different direction of sorts. Glad you've made such progress. God bless, Maria @ Delight Directed Living
It's very easy to get caught up in one train of thought, and a lot of energy to change it. Well done, and I'm glad you're out of your rut :-)
There are good ruts and bad ruts. A good rut is akin to cruising with tunnel vision with a goal in view. A bad rut is a dead end and no easy way to get out of it. Sometimes that dead end is the completion of a project and with it a sense of purpose and loss. Until you know, and have the energy what to do next you're stuck in that cul de sac. Glad things are going well for you now, Misha.
You're right - sometimes the best thing to do is step away from a project. I've taken more weeks off from editing than I'd planned, so hopefully when I go back to the stories I'll be able to fix them in better, more unexpected ways.
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