Fresh Start

I think I know part of why I was feeling bogged down and not writing as much as I wanted to now. I just finished doing a read-through of the draft thus far, and there were a lot of inconsistencies. I went through and corrected those yesterday and today, and I wrote almost eight hundred words today. That isn't the most record-breaking day of writing I've ever done, but it is getting myself pointed in the right direction again. That feels better. I have also been reading more. My memory isn't as strong as it used to be, which makes reading long novels rather intimidating for me. (kind of ironic, considering the task I am undertaking - to write a novel. At least when I am writing, I can have notes and reminders on my desktop, waiting for me to need them!) I finished one novel the other day and started another one today. It has been a long time since I've read just for fun, and it feels good to go back to it. I know that reading more will strengthen my writing too. Steeping yourself in language and expression is a good thing to do when you are writing.

less sunshine

The days are getting shorter, and that means my seasonal affective disorder is raging stronger and stronger. I keep telling myself it won't be too much longer until the winter equinox, and then the days will slowly start to get longer again. I have felt really down this year - curl up and cry on the couch and not feel like doing anything on some days. I know what I need to do to feel okay - things like light therapy, exercise, and writing all help me to feel more content and less depressed. It's just that some days there is a huge gap between knowing what I have to do to feel okay and having the desire to do it. Thus, I have not worked on my novel much in several days. I started exercising again yesterday, and that has helped my motivation. It also has my knee feeling a little better, even with all the cold air moving into our area. I think I may need to give myself a fresh start working on the novel - read back over what I have, review my outlines and plans, and write any other ideas that come to my mind. That will help me feel like I am not trying to push a tractor-trailer up a hill to get started again. Having a memory that does not work as well as it could makes it harder to write consistently - both time-wise and story line-wise. I am doing the best I can, though, and when my depression and my frustration at my funky memory don't get in the way, I enjoy myself.