Chill Then Battle Plan

Hello, darklings! 

I hope everyone had a lovely solstice! The night is shortening, but we are still heading into the coldest days of winter. 

So, for December, a few writers and I decided to take a break from hectic writing, needing a well-earned breather after Nanowrimo. We set reading goals for ourselves, set the quills aside, and picked up our bookmarks. 

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, my bright-eyed chicks, but it’s true what they say: Reading is essential for a writer.

I used to be afraid of reading whenever I was working on a big writing project. I didn’t want to accidentally change my writing voice to simulate another’s, which does happen, but not to the extent we fear. Even when working on a project, it’s important to keep reading, keep watching, keep playing, and keep absorbing what is out there in your genre. You’ll pick up clever tricks, ideas, items to fuel your own imagination, and, of course, see what doesn’t work or what’s overdone.

For January, because we’re all recovering from holiday madness and attempting to establish new patterns to see to our health, we do a “Januedit and chill”. This entails not stressing ourselves, exercising some patience with our brains and emotions, and attempting to start out the new year with a healthier outlook as we plan on how to pace our projects. 

My brain is still not on board with the whole not-stressing thing, nor is it wanting to do anything creative. I’m allowing it the week to recoup, but next week is going to be the implementing of habitual writing again. I can’t NOT write, and I love writing most when I’m excited about a new idea, but this is going to be a big edit and rewrite year, and I got several tricks to coax my muse out of hiding to find the editing process attractive and rewarding. 

Battle plan your year, corvids, but don’t sweat too much.