Mental Meanderings

A Spinning Compass and Literature Heart Surgery

It's strange the way moods seem to come and go. After an intense few days I started getting into a spin today. I feel like a magnetically rocketed compass. You know the kind right, they've stumbled over a charged magnetic spike which sends their dial spinning in hyperdrive because they can't figure out which way is up?

I suppose it's to be expected, after accomplishing so much and sleeping so little I'm expecting a bounce. That's ok, because I'd really like to try and push myself through it. I did today and I enjoyed doing it.

Working was harder, it was harder to concentrate, to stay focused. Especially since the article I was writing was research intensive. Especially since I stayed up till 2AM last night righting an equally research intensive article.

I think the greatest pressure with today's article was the scrawny word count allowance. My regulars here at Mental Meanderings know how I'm inclined to be rather wordy. I love language and I'll use it, at lot, to convey as expressively as possible what I want to say. So having to write a ten point article in under 500 words and have it actually MEAN something, have it more than just a bunch of hyperlinks and pop words was challenging.

In the end I wrote the damn thing the way I wanted to write it. It wasn't as spicey or intense as I'd have liked but I knew I'd have to cut it to shreds after I'd finished so I tried to stick to the basics as I was working the first draft. Cutting it to shreds after was hard. I'd ended up with 900 words in the first draft and needed to get it down to 500, that's 40% to cut.

Thankfully when it comes to non-fiction I don't have an affection for my words. When I write fiction I can feel much closer to my phrasing and it'll be painful to change. I know it has to be done and I do it but it always feels like menacing an infant. With non-fiction it's more like lancing a wound or doing open heart surgery. Not that I've ever done either of those things but that's how I look at it. Like a doctor, a surgeon, going in and cutting out the bad stuff, and sewing it all back together again so it works better than ever.

I guess with my fiction I'm too much the mother when I try to be the surgeon. I'm worried the book won't wake up from the anesthetic. I'm worry I'll slip and cut some vital organ. When I write non-fiction I'm always the surgeon, impartial, get the job done and send it back to the ward.

*sighs* I'm still spinning. It's time for me to take myself off to bed. I wanted to finish reading Hooked today but I don't know if I'll be able to stay awake. I also need to read more often because I'm trying to do a book review a week but other than the two books I've blogged about recently it's been a while since I've finished a book cover to cover. In fact, those two books I haven't finished yet. lol

I was thinking of picking up Writer Mama again to jog my memory on that one for tomorrow. If anyone has a good book they've written or would like to see reviewed let me know and I'll dig it up if possible.

Meanwhile, here's a reader question, do you ever have days where you feel like you're in a spin? When you can't focus? What do you do about it? Do you continue to push through and work anyway? What usually causes your spins?

And finally, What have you written today?