I’m in a Mood

Some things have happened in the last while that have me rethinking some old assumptions. Growing up, I tended to be somewhat scattered, perhaps even a little ADD, so I had to learn certain disciplines to get anything accomplished. Otherwise I would embark, with great enthusiasm, on numerous new projects with none of them seeing completion – at least not in a timely manner.

So I learned, slowly, to stay with one project at a time and not allow myself to start something new until it was finished. That worked well for many years. It even helped me get two books written and published.

Lately, though, I’ve had some moods, swings and urges in different directions, and became dissatisfied with having only my current WIP to work on. Other ideas insinuated themselves between the creative pathways I had so carefully guarded against intrusion. The more I tried to ignore them the more they got in my way. I deemed them as distractions, excuses and procrastinations, taking me away from my ‘real work’.

When I woke in the middle of the night in a dark mood an even darker story demanded to be written. That night, I threw back the covers and gave in. I am proud of that short story. Others have also liked it. I thought that would be the end of it and I could get back to my novel. But my moods didn’t recede. They kept bothering me. Other stories wanted to be told.

At the same time, I have been reading about other authors and writers who find they successfully work on multiple projects at the same time, even in multiple genres. These are writers I admire, who have written diverse books and stories I enjoyed. I kept telling myself that I could never do that. I had to stay focused or the distractions of various projects would prevent me from finishing my third novel.

But the moods, mostly dark and nasty, some sad, would not leave me alone, nor would the new ideas and stories that intruded on my thoughts. And my novel would not move ahead at a pace that satisfied me.

All this got me thinking. Now, I’m no longer young, not as malleable as I used to be. I thought I had it all figured out, that I knew who I was and what my limitations were. End of story. I don’t know about you, but it seems that every time I think I finally have myself figured out, that’s when something new and disturbing shows up to challenge that conclusion.

What if these ‘intrusions’ and ‘moods’ mean something important? What if those stories that I have in my head are supposed to be written and not put off. What if – here it comes –  I am actually able to work on more than one thiing at a time and if I listen to those urges the novel will actually move ahead with greater ease?

I just read an interview that Chris James did with Hugh Howey. He says, “I think my voice is more suited to the plot and characters than to the genre.” That turned the dial on my musings up another notch. It’s the characters that drive my writing. Maybe it’s time to let go of some of those restrictions that served me well in the past in favour of learning some new tricks. Maybe it’s time to put those stories that have been nagging me onto paper (virtually, of course) and let the characters have their say. Maybe I really can learn to do more than one thing at the same time, still do it well and even finish what I set out to do in the first place.

And when I do, maybe those dark moods will lift. Or not – and if they don’t, I’ll turn them into stories. Who says an old girl can’t learn a few new tricks. There’s only one way to find out. I think I’ll experiment for a while with following my moods.

Author: Yvonne Hertzberger

Yvonne Hertzberger is a native of the Netherlands who immigrated to Canada in 1950. She is an alumna of The University of Waterloo, with degrees in psychology and Sociology. Her Fantasy trilogy, ‘Earth’s Pendulum’ has been well received. Learn more about Yvonne at her blog and her Amazon author page.

26 thoughts on “I’m in a Mood”

  1. Great post; maybe more of us should concentrate on writing what we ‘feel’ rather than obsessing about trying to write only what we ‘know.’

  3. As I get older, the stories get darker too– Maybe it’s menopause or maybe it’s inspiration. I don’t know. But I work on a few projects because if one stalls and I need to let it breathe I can work on something else for a while. In bits and pieces until I am done. I have written four novels, several short story collections, and a couple poetry chapbooks. I am driven because there is only a short time in this world and I feel it.

      1. I was forty when I started, but during that time I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. So yea– I think the “time is short” explanation is what is happening. Enjoy the ride.

  4. Dear Yvonne,
    I sometimes get up in the morning and sit down and write a complete short story or blog post, start to finish, without even thinking. It’s something to do with maintaining the dream state, and I think it’s a phenomenon to be courted, not worried about. Most authors search desperately to source their true creativity.

    I’d say grab it when it happens, no matter what the subject matter is. But then, I write fantasy and social commentary, both almost at the same time, so that’s the way my brain works 🙂

    Happy writing,

    Gordon

  5. enjoyed the post, Yvonne. Well, I’ve been writing since my early teens, and even then I worked on multiple stories as well as poetry. I’ve long considered this thought, when an idea hits me, regardless what else I’m already doing, I do my best to at least jot down the key elements of that idea. I do this, because quite frankly…like a dream you wake from and want to remember, but drop back to sleep, only to find it forgotten or too fuzzy to remember in the morning, so too will that story idea vanish in short order, unless you write as much detail as is there at the moment.I find writing on several things, not at all confusing and yes, if one project stalls a bit i go to another and in the meantime i can go back with fresh eyes and pick up where i left off. That works well for me.
    I

  6. Great post, Y. I used to be a one story at a time guy. It takes a little getting used to, but without my flash fiction breaks, I’d go nuts and the novel would suffer.

  7. Honor your muse! Great post, Yvonne. Going dark isn’t necessarily a bad thing…I tend to get darker on the short stories. Maybe it’s the freedom of the medium that allows for a more intense flow.

    1. “The freedom of the medium”. Now there’s a new catch-phrase if I ever saw one. lol Better copyright it. 😉 But you could be right. I’m not sure I could handle ‘dark’ if it lasted too long.

  8. Go with the flow, Yvonne, what have you got to lose? I, like you, started getting serious about writing pretty late in life. However along the way, while I was really just toying with the idea (telling myself I was a budding writer), while being serious about other things, I used to write down ideas, outlines, synopses and anything up to a twenty thousand words or so; stuff that usually began through a dream, or perhaps a daydream when I was supposed to be concentrating on something else. I still do. I currently have forty eight projects, at various stages from a title and just a basic idea to ten chapters. I’m determined not to let anything get away from me.

    Great post, Yvonne.

  9. Writing isn’t really a cerebral thing. It uses cerebral tools but it comes from a place we can’t control. If the flash fiction piece you wrote recently is an example of these dark moods then FOLLOW your moods. Sometimes a change in direction, a loosening up, can trigger a huge explosion of creativity. I think that’s what’s bubbling up inside you Yvonne. Go for it!

  11. It seems that your muse isn’t happy concentrating on one story right now.:) So, follow along and see where the journey takes you. Writing stories one feels deeply about can’t be bad! I’m not sure I could work on more than one story at a time, but if I ever get the urge I’ll look at your words. As long as you keep writing!

  12. My WIP was so sluggish I thought I would never finish it, then last year I joined in the Bill Counts October Game with about 25 mostly visual artists. Each of the participants produced a new creative work every day for the entire month. All of my niggling ideas jotted down in the middle of a mood finally had an outlet, and each one had to be buttoned up and put into the world in a day. I found that when November rolled around, my mind was clear and the WIP took off, to the point that by January it was in its second round of beta readers and it is now all done but the cover. So, turn those new tricks, Yvonne! Or, well…you know what I mean.

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