[GC Insider] Quick and slow plod
The end of month roundup where I share the good, the bad and the ugly of my own creative process
Is it just me or has this month flown by?
So far in the UK, our Spring has been cool. Today it is 17° Centigrade (approx 61° Fahrenheit) and breezy. There have been a couple of days where we have hit the magnificent heights of 20° (a whopping 68° Fahrenheit) but not many. It really doesn’t feel like we’re approaching summer!
My novel writing is slow. I only manage one or two sessions a week of about 60 to 90 minutes. Progress is a very sluggish creep. At this rate, to get books two and three done in my series, it is going to take a very long time.
A couple of weeks ago it did cross my mind to just give up and admit defeat. However, I have found in the past that while stopping a project might bring some immediately relief, it eventually catches up with me mentally and then it is a horrible wallow in regret.
I’m slow because my energy is low because I have an illness. I have to carefully manage how I spend the energy that I do have. So the fact I am doing anything is a miracle.
At the times I work on the book, I do enjoy it. It is fun to find the right words to fit what I’m trying to say and build the picture of what is happening to my main character.
When I considered giving up, I placated myself with the thought that it is okay to do what I can at this ‘plod’ pace. If there is a point in the future when I can do more work, I’ll be really glad that I continued now and laid a foundation that I can build upon.
So I will gently plod forwards with it.
It has been lovely to return to writing Substack articles. I have 14 new subscribers this month. Welcome to the Gentle Creative family.
I have noticed that my growth of new subscribers has slowed up. This could be because I’m only publishing twice a month now instead of weekly, I’m less active on social media or perhaps the Substack eco system of recommendations and feeding potential readers from one publication to another has reached a temporary plateau. If you run a newsletter, have you noticed any changes to your stats?
I really don’t have much to say this month so I will leave it here and wish you well for June.
Plodding gently
Cali x
"A couple of weeks ago it did cross my mind to just give up and admit defeat. However, I have found in the past that while stopping a project might bring some immediately relief, it eventually catches up with me mentally and then it is a horrible wallow in regret."
This paragraph resonates so much with me. I do get extremely frustrated that I'm not charging down the path like some indie authors are and feel really disappointed with myself when I'm slow. I'm not able to be on social media as often, and at one time, all I could manage was a newsletter or two a month, and even that took monumental effort. I'm better now, only because I'm at a better place and finding joy in writing again.
I always look forward to your gentle encouragement :)
Continuing to work on your art is important, no matter the pace. I'm also a very slow writer, and sometimes I beat myself up for it, then I remember I do it all primarily for myself and for the joy in my soul.