Brenda
Living in Canada, the winter months can be gloomy. At the darkest stretch, the sun sets about four-thirty in the afternoon, adding a few minutes of sunlight a day after the winter solstice, but it is still getting dark around five o'clock as I type. The sky is often overcast, and we usually have snow or frigid temperatures with the odd above-seasonal day. The warmer temperature melts some of the snow, which later freezes when a cold front comes through, making walking and driving hazardous. Little wonder we Canadians are obsessed with the weather, heading for southern vacations when we can this time of the year.
I spend more time indoors in January and February than other months of the year. My way of escaping is to write. Sometimes, though, it's difficult to make myself settle down to work, but I have a few tricks to get myself energized and focused.
First, I open the manuscript that I'm currently working on first thing in the morning on my laptop. I reread whatever I wrote the day before to get my brain thinking about the next scene. I don't force myself to get started at this point unless the feeling moves me.
I normally work out in the morning and find this is the best way to get energized. The days I don't feel like exercising, I bribe myself by saying, just do this exercise and you can stop ... then I go on to the next and usually complete the entire routine. I also curl a couple of times a week and find this break from the house and all concerns helps to refresh me. Curling is a very social sport, so interacting with others balances the solitariness of writing.
In this regard, last week, our chapter of Crime Writers of Canada held a social gathering that I helped to organize. Seventeen experienced and new authors got together over dinner and drinks to talk about our writing and the business. It was fun and invigorating.
When It's time to sit down and get to it, I often light a candle, sometimes turn on the gas fireplace - set a calm, creative mood. Music playing in the background is also helpful for creativity. I aim to write at least 500 words a day, especially important this February because I have a June 1st deadline to submit the manuscript to my publisher. A deadline certainly is a big motivator, but setting my own goals keeps me on track.
Reading also stokes my creativity, and I always have a book on the go. Watching a movie or another creation motivates me as well. I started watching Mad Men last week (never had watched an episode before) and find relaxing and taking in an episode or two clears my mind. I use it as a reward when I hit my word count for the day.
I used to dislike February because it's the middle stretch of winter when we're all tired of the cold and snow, but I've learned to embrace the early darkness and the opportunities to write with fewer distractions.
If any of my ideas help to spark your creativity, then my work here is done :-)
Website: www.brendachapman.ca
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