Somedays, it's all beyond me!

There are days I can sit and write, focused on where the book is going and aware that I am blessed by being "in the zone." But today...ffft...nothing. I need a certain amount of energy to be able to write. I'll never know how people who struggle with chronic pain or debilitating illness can write. I just don't have the steam to keep my characters going if I'm not rested (or partly) and fairly healthy. And today, I'm pooped!

I just put my mom on a plane back home to Portland, and now I'm in the "getting back to the normal schedule" mode. It was so nice to have her here, but traveling upsets everyone's usual routine--isn't that at least partly why we do it? So now I have to rearrange the room we used as a guest room, launder sheets and towels, and see what's left in the refrigerator. Then, maybe, I can get excited about what's happening in  Anna Branson's (my main character) world.  Funny how the details of life can slow down the creative process.

Time flies

Holy cow! What's happening to March? I feel as if I haven't written anything meaningful since December. I think having a co-writer would be handy about now. I'd get to the point where I've got the book moving along and then stalled out. "Here," I say to my blessed partner in crime, " take the next 50 pages." How generous of me. And she  would write us out of the problem situation, then I would pick up again, refreshed by her ingenious creation and buoyed by her cheerleading:  "Now, take it back and give me drama, pathos, comedy." I will praise her work, and then I will give her all that and more.

But for now, I have to write my own book, all by myself, sitting by the sunny window where my tomato seedlings interest me more than my plot. Why is it I have all sorts of suggestions for everyone else, but when it comes to myself, I have no clue what to do?  That's why I need my critique group, which I will have to miss this week due to a visit from my mom.  Maybe I'll make Mom read my draft and see what she has to say. But first I have to tell her she must cheer me on when she's done reading, even if she hates the book. That's the rule. 

The doldrums.

The last few weeks have been crazy at home. My pre-teen daughter is going through the usual pre-teen stuff that requires a lot of my attention and sympathy--and discipline. My main character has gone to sleep on me and the hero is waiting patiently for her to wake up. So what do I write?  The blog, the book, the article on attachment disorder that I want to send to women's magazines? I hate those query letters that must precede the article writing. I am not a great query letter writer. I think for this week's critique group, I should get feedback on my cruddy query letters. I need to get some money coming in with my writing, but I'm sitting here on my ship, sails ready, but no wind.