Welcome Back Me

It’s been so long since I last wrote a post that I can barely remember how to do it.
It’s been even longer since I did any actual novel writing. The natural question is: why?
I don’t have an entirely coherent answer to that question, but I know there are two major factors that I can identify – Fear and Apathy.
Fear’s a pretty big one for most people, I don’t know about apathy. But for me, they’re both big factors in my life, and not just in writing.
But while they are frequent companions, they do take holidays sometimes, and right now I’ve sent them packing long enough to actually write a post, so I say ‘Well done me’.
That’s enough back patting, though. Here’s a quick run down of what I’ve been up to in recent weeks and months.
1. I joined a writing group – the idea was to meet up with like minded people (which I am), and use their input and support as impetus to start writing again (which I am not doing). The group itself is great – a really diverse set of writers, some more confident and further along than others. I think, at this point, everyone in the group has shared something, except for me (thanks, fear), and it’s been super interesting and genuinely inspiring to hear what other people are working on. And while it hasn’t spurred me on to write (yet) or present my own work (yet), I do enjoy the social aspect and it does keep me thinking about writing on a more regular basis. So, if you’ve been thinking about it, and you have the opportunity to join one, I’d definitely recommend a writing group. I know as writers, we can become quite insular in our approach, and having a group of people with a similar goal, and different perspectives is really helpful, and it’s nice to talk to people. (This is especially relevant for me right now as I recently started a job where I work from home a lot, so have a social network is becoming increasingly important).
2. I’ve done zero writing – OK, that’s not 100% true. I wrote one paragraph of a story. But considering the goal I set for myself, it’s not the result I was hoping for. I have to accept that I just wasn’t in the head space for writing recently, so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself about it.
Now that I am feeling a bit more motivated I am thinking about participating in National Novel Writing Month, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m not 100% convinced I’ll be able to keep up with it, but it’s worth a go. And if nothing else, it’ll give me something to blog about….watch this space.