August 28, 2013

Pitfalls of Research: ROW80 Update

My kids went back to school, and the first thing I wanted to do was write.

Score one for progress, especially after a lackluster summer of writing. (But plenty of living. And I truly believe the two are closely intertwined.)

To get back in the writing mode, I picked up my two research books. One about wolves, and one about the Indians from Manitou Springs in Colorado. Both hold keys to my next book's storyline.

The positive... the books had me furiously jotting down ideas.

source
The negative... distraction. For example, one book mentioned a simple phrase. The word nerd that I am, I was suddenly struck with an intense curiosity about the phrase's origin. Note: this prompted a post that will appear on Friday. The phrase: bat out of hell.

Are you the curious sort? Will research for one thing send you searching for the answer to another?

So, I didn't get done as much as I wanted, but it was the first day back to creating a schedule. The most important piece, in my mind... the excitement I felt to get back to writing.

Since ROW80 is as much about support as it is about goals, I have to mention a comment Beth Camp left on my last update post, A Day in the Life. Her comment:

Despite the intensity of the day, the poop, the rushing back and forth, the sense of being on the brink of something brand new for your girls, the beginning of the school year, all shows your love for them and commitment to family. Underlying this frenetic reality, is the pull to write. Once they begin school, flip flops aside, new shoes donned, I believe you will find uncluttered time again to write. Persevere! Organize! Schedule! Seize the moment! And celebrate that creativity that pushes you on.

Life has a funny way of putting obstacles in my writing path. Sometimes my focus needs to be elsewhere, such as family issues. But, other times, I need to Persevere! Organize! Schedule! Seize the moment! Thanks, Beth.

But I'm truly grateful for the passion to write.

Speaking of passion, Shan Jeniah Burton wrote a great ROW80 sponsor post this past week: Do I Really Have To? The Puritan Work Ethic and Writing with Passion. If you missed it, check it out. I found it inspiring.

My goal for the rest of the week... let the passion of writing take over and celebrate creativity. I'm excited. Wishing everyone a wonderful week full of their passion.

7 comments:

krystal jane said...

Go for it!

I actually hate research. I left a wikipedia tab open in my browser for two months and all I needed to do was write down the first paragraph (and I short one at that). I'm a run to Google to make sure Britain was called Britain during the time period I'm mentioning and things like that. I do these things while in the middle of sentences...so bad.

Beth Camp said...

Thanks for the link, Tia. At the beginning of a story, I'm pulled in every direction by research at random. Only slowly do key cards go up on my corkboard, but it's such a pleasure to see order out of chaos -- and my characters, settings, story arcs emerge. After your summer off with family, may you enjoy each moment of uncluttered time and write!

ShaunaKelleyWrites said...

So glad that I am not the only one this easily distracted from writing :) But I now feel guilty and am actually going to write something this afternoon...

Unknown said...

I'm so easily distracted.
Enjoy the wave of passion. Good luck for the coming week.

Tia Bach said...

Krystal - I love to learn new things, but sitting down to do the actual research is a bit too "sitting down" for me... that's why I get distracted so easily.

Beth - Thanks for the encouragement! I'm loving writing time and looking forward to finding my writing routine.

Shauna - Hope you accomplished lots of writing.

Deborah - I'm catching up on blog comments in my moment of distraction today.

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

alberta ross said...

love research because it leads to unusual/unlooked for paths knowledge just keeps expanding:) def. distracting but such fun - will have to read your bat out of hell - dont you have the expression over there? - very common here - all the best for coming week:)

Jo Michaels said...

I know exactly how you feel. I shut my internet off while I write :) Hell, I shut everything off while I write. LOL! Nothing wrong with that. Number one goal is to WRITE ON!