{"id":1886,"date":"2010-04-13T03:02:53","date_gmt":"2010-04-13T07:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=1886"},"modified":"2010-04-13T03:02:53","modified_gmt":"2010-04-13T07:02:53","slug":"so-much-happening-so-little-getting-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/so-much-happening-so-little-getting-done\/","title":{"rendered":"So much happening, so little getting done"},"content":{"rendered":"

…in terms of writing, that is. \u00a0I got a lot \u00a0of little and not-so-little things done today, but didn’t spend much time writing. \u00a0Only got about 855 words, when I need to be averaging 2.5k per day in order to finish Mercenary Savior<\/em> before CONduit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The weirdest part is that I have so much free time. \u00a0No school, no work–no pressing obligations or deadlines. \u00a0You’d think I’d be writing 4k a day, just like last summer.<\/p>\n

Instead, I’ve been so consumed with getting an apartment, getting a job, getting basic transportation–basically, figuring out a plan for my immediate future–that I’ve lost any momentum I might have had a week ago. \u00a0Writing isn’t just about time; it’s about mental space as well.<\/p>\n

It’s frustrating. \u00a0I feel so distant from Mercenary Savior<\/em> that it’s hard not to procrastinate, especially now that I’m stuck on one of James’s scenes that needs a complete overhaul. \u00a0I wonder whether these revisions are making the novel any better–I need to deal with this outside stress and get back into the story.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, things are working out that I’ll probably be able to do that. \u00a0I found a cheap bike on craigslist that will hopefully solve my immediate transportation needs, and I’ve got a semi-workable plan as far as employment goes.<\/p>\n

The plan that currently seems most attractive is to get a full or 3\/4ths part time job at BYU (those come with benefits) before the end of the summer. \u00a0Yes, there is still a hiring freeze, but it could lift very soon, and when it does, there will be tons of positions to fill. \u00a0It’s not like I’m going to hold out for that, but I’m certainly hopeful. \u00a0I felt very good about it when I visited D-70 ASB for information.<\/p>\n

Anyways, the key with the writing is to cut the distractions and just slug through it for a few days, until the momentum comes back. \u00a0In the absence of school or work, it will be difficult to impose structure on my days, but that problem will solve itself if I can balance job-seeking with writing.<\/p>\n

Exactly one month ago, I started the revision for Mercenary Savior<\/em>. \u00a0I’ve got 40 days before the self-imposed deadline, and I’m only 25% finished. \u00a0Fortunately, without any school obligations to occupy my time, I should be able to do it. \u00a02.5k per day, that’s the goal. \u00a0Once I’ve got some momentum going again, it should be pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, check out this awesome, awesome song from This American Life<\/a> and rage against the robber barons of the Great Recession:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Bet Against The American Dream<\/a> from Planet Money<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…in terms of writing, that is. \u00a0I got a lot \u00a0of little and not-so-little things done today, but didn’t spend much time writing. \u00a0Only got about 855 words, when I need to be averaging 2.5k per day in order to finish Mercenary Savior before CONduit. The weirdest part is that I have so much free… Continue reading So much happening, so little getting done<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[68],"tags":[89,382,88,42,46,259,147,156,312],"class_list":["post-1886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bsh","tag-career-decisions","tag-conduit-2010","tag-doubts-and-fears","tag-frustrations","tag-goals-and-plans","tag-just-for-fun","tag-momentum","tag-revising","tag-work","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iXK-uq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1886"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1901,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1886\/revisions\/1901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}