Today is the first Wednesday of March so I’m blogging as part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Whether it proves to be an industrious day, remains to be seen. But last month was.
First, a clue to the Welsh I learnt in April – I now know at least four phrases in a language that we hear all around us, if we go outside our compound.
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau
Looking back, I’ve been busy all my life, but often that rushing around has been evasion. I had things to do, but often found other distractions. With my writing that can be detrimental, whether it is playing Facebook games, watching Soaps, or researching without direction.
However, in February I found some balance and managed to write a satisfying amount, mostly some of the chapters of “Seeking A Knife” featuring my Goth detective, DS Sparkle Lodge. I was even editing/rereading scenes when I started each day. The secret, for me, was not to set myself an impossible daily goal, and to treat the zero days as part of the flow.
That’s what we have to do, stand back from impossible targets and find the balance in our lives between work and play. That balancing act will vary from day to day, but over a greater period of time pan out and hopefully yield amazing results.
Maybe that isn’t the way the ants achieve great things, but there will be days when we are as “brysur fel morgrig” – “busy as ants”.
Image courtesy of SweetCrisis at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. This is my attempt to talk about my doubts and the fears that I am trying to conquer. I want to be encouraging, and by posting perhaps this is a way of saying keep striving. Visit IWSG and some other great bloggers, not all as insecure but great fun.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the March 4 posting of the IWSG are Chemist Ken, Suzanne Sapseed, and Shannon Lawrence!
Writing Wings 
Reblogged this on THE DUSKWEALD and commented:
You make a lot of sense with this one my darling husband!!!!!
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“What are we busy about?” Good question.
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Ants of course are busy for a reason. What’s our excuse 😉
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I never looked at it that way! Busy isn’t enough…we have to be moving toward an end goal. It’s all about focus.
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Right Stephie, but it’s how we get to that end goal – enjoy the journey rather than crash and burn.
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Sometimes we need those non-productive days to recharge.
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I need those, Alex, even if its to recharge ‘the little grey cells’.
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I find that works for me too. I try to write every day, that’s my goal, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
On those days, I do something else, if possible, related to my writing (research, blogging, visiting freinds’ blogs). The secret, for me, is never waste your time. Whether is your writing or something else, do something useful for your writing every day 🙂
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Good philosophy, Sarah – doing something useful for your writing every day. But as Alex says, we need those recharge days as well. I suspect then that the work is in the mind.
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So I write everyday. Or at least try to. Some days I push out a few paragraphs – sometimes a few sentences. And then there are those days where NOTHING comes out. This used to freak me out, because I thought “what a wasted day!” It wasn’t wasted. It was necessary. Either I needed a break, or my muse did. The main thing is to always return. “You only fail if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury
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That’s the secret, I think, C G. Don’t freak out, just recharge then come back. A different form of ‘busy’.
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Busy as ants, huh? Some days that’s how I feel–like ant racing back & forth from the nest. But unlike the ant, I don’t always accomplish as much as I wanted.
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Suspect that was what Thoreau was on about. And humans are good at being non-productive. But then I’m sure, Diane, that you are still working ideas through in your head – or recharging.
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I’ve worked hard all my life, spent shifts working as a paramedic wondering what it would be like after retirement. I feared it thinking I’d be bored. Well, retirement has come and I think I’m more busy than when I worked ten hour days and fourteen hour nights. Now my days are filled with writing, family stuff, walking my wonderful dog, painting, photography, gardening. I’m never bored. Not sure if I’m accomplishing anything of value for my community or the world, but I hope that I’m also doing no harm. Blessings.
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I’d say that you are creating something useful, not least for immediate family including dogs. And keep writing, although where can I link to it rather than the company, which is also helping green the world.
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I often find my balance leaning heavily on the work side of the scale. I keep thinking, “If only I could catch up…”
At the moment, there aren’t any juggling balls that I’m willing to drop. My life consists of family, work, housework, and writing. I don’t do much “playing” (I don’t play any games, online or on my phone) but I’m not unhappy yet. Though I think it might be time to dip into some vacation hours…
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Sounds like you deserve some vacation hours, Loni. As Alex says it helps to recharge our batteries. In my case the balance has to be right or I implode, mentally and physically.
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