It's that time of year again in Los Angeles. June Gloom. And it's really true. It *does* get gloomy pretty much every day in June. Low white clouds cover the sky and hang like a low ceiling pretty much all day. I kind of love it. It feels cozy and makes me want to stay inside, which is good when you're trying to finish a book.
I'm about to re-write a chapter I've been looking forward to for a while. It was one of the first new scenes I came up with when figuring out how to approach the revisions, and it was one of the reasons I got excited about the work ahead. It lit that fire, so to speak, and helped me let go of what I had already written to be open to new and better ideas. So, now that I finally get to write it, I'm, of course, procrastinating big time.
But I'm not one of those productive procrastinators who gets things like laundry, bill paying, email-responding, cleaning, writing wedding thank-you notes (yes! over a year later and I still haven't finished, for shame), blogging (okay, I'm doing that now) done while avoiding my work.
No, that time gets sucked by either hugging my dog or random internet browsing (hey, I'm very up to date on current events and Michelle Obama's latest outfit). If I were a productive procrastinator I'd pay more attention to my succulent garden, or go for bike rides around the neighborhood (hmmm, maybe I'll do that later), or plant the herb/vegetable garden I've been mentally planning, etc.
The thing is, I've come to accept that this is part of my process. I rarely can start writing the second I sit down at my computer. I need time to sink back into that mental space. Some days it only takes a few minutes, others, like today, it can be up to or over an hour. But, I've realized that the work always ends up getting done, one way or another, so there's no point resisting it. A little cushion room is sometimes all I need to pave the way for a good day of writing.
And with that, I'm off to begin. Happy June Gloom.
x jordanna
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