Yes, that subtitle is true. I spent the first two weeks of November stuck in a rut, trying to alleviate some of the pressure that had built up between myself and my WIP. It’s no secret that the latter parts of Jewel Tones are the trickiest part of this story to map out, but there were other external factors that meant every day when I wasn’t beating through the block, I felt like I was failing.
It’s an easy mistake to make. Part of the double-edged sword of setting yourself a deadline: it may motivate you to write more and to keep writing, but push yourself too hard and the pressure might constrict your creativity entirely. That’s what happened to me. I could sense the self-imposed deadline of finishing this draft by the end of November looming over me, and since I’d already mentioned it to other people in my life, there was the additional pressure of having to let them know I hadn’t managed it.
I was, for a while, trying to force myself through the trouble I was having. It was like pulling nails. I would manage a few hundred words at best before drying up, my creative well running empty. While I was on a retreat at the beginning of November, I had the opportunity to think through my editing process with a tutor and a number of other lovely participants. The support they gave me, and the encouraging feedback, was nothing short of life-saving.
You’ll notice I went on that retreat on the first week, but I claimed to be stuck for another week or so after that. It’s true: just finding out where the problem lies doesn’t immediately fix it. In this instance, what was necessary was returning to my outline, tossing the bits I had already decided weren’t right, and piecing what was left of both drafts together until the end started to fall into place.
A plotting activity that really worked for me was breaking down my story into a pyramid. Starting with the single sentence that sums up Jewel Tones, then summarising each act, and then each of the major events within those. It gave me the spine of my story, with room to add in the rest of the skeleton before I got back to fleshing it out into a full living thing.
Even then, it took a couple of weeks to make headway on that, and in between the usual wintry illnesses that go around this time of year, and a few other unavoidable responsibilities, I didn’t get back to the point of being ready to return to my second draft until almost the end of the month. Just when I started getting that rhythm of writing a decent amount each day, I was struck with yet another bug that’s had me out of it for the last week, hence this late post. (Whoops!)
Seasonal Celebrations
Aside from some winter colds, I have been getting into the wintry spirit some other ways too! Several crafty Christmas presents are underway (though I won’t be posting pictures of this progress since I know at least a couple of recipients follow this account) and I’ve had the chance to see the local Christmas lights around town.
We’ve finally had a proper icy snap with frozen wind shields and dragon’s breath in the mornings, which always gets me excited. I’ve been loading up on cozy jumpers and hot drinks to get into the mood. There’s nothing better at this time of year than curling up on the sofa with a hot chocolate in hand, at least one blanket over you, some fluffy socks to keep your toes from freezing, and some silly show to watch when you’re not gazing out at the hailstorm outside.
Next Month’s Goals
December: the month where you lose at least a week to food comas and travelling across the country to visit your family. With that in mind, and the possibility of needing to spend more time prepping for the festivities, I think I’m going to set myself a more realistic goal to finish off this year: get to 75k words. Is that what I aimed for in November? Probably, but after how ill I’ve been, I only got about 4000 words in all.
How are you preparing for Christmas? If you don’t celebrate, do you have some other plans to get through the darkest month of the year? Let me know how you’re finishing off your writing journey for 2025!