November 6, 2022
Sometimes, life gets in the way. That’s just how things can go when it comes to writing and other creative work. This might be due to illness, financial setbacks, home repair and maintenance, work obligations, children, moving, travel, holiday celebrations, or any number of other expected or unexpected obstacles. Stuff happens, and your productivity as an author plummets…not because of any laziness or fault on your part, but simply because of interference in your regular schedule. In a particular group of authors to which I belong, including mentors Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, such events are referred to as “life rolls,” as in the results of rolls of the dice in a role-playing game. Being aware of such possibilities is a good thing, so we as authors aren’t completely taken by surprise and lose all hope and faith in ourselves when our productivity drops. That doesn’t mean life rolls are easy to deal with, though. Sometimes, in spite of our good intentions, they can get the better of us. One small delay or distraction happens…then another…then another…and a month or more may pass without a single completed piece of work. The key then is to always remember that it’s within our power to overcome life rolls–to accept their impact, muscle through them, and get back to the world of creative productivity as soon as possible. Instead of setting our expectations of ourselves at unreasonably high levels, we should be forgiving of lapses, give ourselves the time we need for important obligations, responsibilities, and health and family concerns, and resume our storytelling with fresh energy and interest. Always keep in mind, too, that life rolls can be sources of inspiration for our creative work, bringing new ideas and feelings into play that can inform our novels, stories, poetry, and other works. Instead of being discouraged by dips in our output, take such pauses as necessary for our well-being and the strength of the writing we produce when our next life roll brings us back to the keyboard of our laptop.
