Changing plots

In his book, 'On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft', Stephen King says that want-to-be authors should aim to write at least 1000 words a day, (a concession he offers after saying he writes 2000 words a day). Concession or not, 1000 words has always been an unattainable goal for me. On a good day I manage to write about 400 words for my novel. Most days its less. At the moment I'm lucky to get 400 words written in a whole week. Starting a new job at the same time that a pandemic was unleashing itself on the world, has left me with little emotional energy to write. Negotiating home schooling, the finances of our family business, and the NDIS (with which I now work), has been hugely draining, not to mention the grief I feel over the impact of COVID on the world. For example, did you know that experts estimate that the impact of the Corona Virus on developing nations will set world poverty back by 30 years!

Rather than trying to write witty dialogue and solve tricky plot-holes, its been a lot easier to spend my creative time drawing flowers while 'watching' a good show on Netflix. There's something incredibly soothing about focusing just on the graduation of tone and the perfection of colours while simultaneously escaping into a good story.

I'm fortunate to live in an area that is mostly returning to normal, but I am still struggling to get back into writing again. This is compounded by the fact that my ideas are less original now than when I came up with them. Crazily enough, over the last few months, a number of my old ideas have become our new reality. For example I had imagined people using virtual reality to work from home rather than traveling to offices each day, and nations requiring travelers to go into quarantine before they could enter the country. Quite imaginative I thought - eighteen months ago! Another idea I had developed to ensure the timely death of a few secondary characters, was that of a global pandemic sweeping across the global. A year ago it was a fantastic plot line that I was quietly proud of. Now its just lazy and insensitive.

With a story that is taking years to write, sink holes developing in my plot, and a wavering willpower, I am tempted to stop writing and just sit and watch Netflix. However, Stephen King also said, “Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.” I very much hope that I've been doing good work on my book but it is hard to be sure at this point. While its true that I need to start writing more so I actually finish this novel before it belongs in the historical fiction section, at the same time I need the space to find rest in colour, tone, and a good pencil drawing. Perhaps 400 words a week isn't so bad after all!