Productivity and Doing What it Takes - IWSG December 2020

 

It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. To find links to other IWSG contributors, click here.  Thank you to December co-hosts: Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre

This month’s optional question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

Since I hold myself to a regular writing schedule, it’s difficult to assess periods of productivity. I get up on weekdays and write. Sometimes weekends, too. That said, there are less productive times—vacations when I allow myself to sleep late. I spent last week with my daughter out of state. Yes, I know travel was discouraged. But please understand. Thanksgiving was THE holiday for our family of three. Every year upwards of 30 Salernos arrived at our house to four tables extending through two rooms. COVID made sure no one was coming this year, but the biggest hole was caused by a missing one.

I honestly don’t know how my daughter and I would have survived that particular day apart. So, since she had to work, I went. This post—drafted while tightly masked, sitting in the lobby of the hotel where she’s employed while waiting for a ride to the airport, was the first thing I’d written in days.

It’s easy to get distracted during the holidays, which makes me glad for things that hold me accountable—monthly IWSG posts and my writing group every second Thursday. And now, a kind of pandemic bonus: extra free time due to a state-mandated quarantine. Upon my return home, I was required to hunker down for fourteen days or until the COVID-19 test I took Friday came back negative. In planning for that, I took extra time off from work. Fortuitously, I got the all clear the day after I returned, leaving me some unplanned time. So, what to do? Well, for one, regularly scheduled writing will occur after the sun comes up. In addition, I may decorate (or at least make a plan to decorate) for the holidays, which, since my sweet husband was Mr. Christmas, I expect to cause angst. Still, while I can promise I won’t be climbing on the roof to mount a wreath on the chimney, there will be some kind of light display. He would accept nothing less.

In spite of all this year has wrought, I’m trying my darned hardest to remain a glass-half-full kind of gal. Getting some lights up will be a victory. If I get a little teary in the process, it will be a good excuse to sit down at my desk, open up my laptop and attempt to write the sadness out.  

With any luck, that will lead to another burst of productivity.

 

I know so  many of us are missing loved ones. Please accept my wishes to you all for comfort, joy and optimism as we move forward into a new year. 

 

Mr. Christmas's last hurrah.