I’ve been suffering from writer’s fatigue this week – I’m plain old tired basically. Ben’s away in Chicago and he’s usually very hands on. We share the mornings – the kids can get up pretty early and I hate the pre-school dash – making the sambos makes me scream, which is funny as I’m generally quite a calm person.
So I’m a bit on edge this week – stiff neck, slow moving, generally not shiny and happy.

But I’m still writing. So how does how a writer is feeling effect/affect their work – hang on, just grab my dictionary – I can never remember which is it – I need Martina Devlin’s amazingly brilliant grammar help – OK – effect is the noun . . . affect their work. (Sorry, told you I was tired!).

Well it slows it down, that’s for sure. But sometimes I try to go with my mood – if I’m grouchy I write a grouchy scene. If I’m emotional, I write an emotional scene (often making myself cry buckets in the process), if I’m in a lively mood I write a lively scene. Doesn’t always work – and my teen books don’t have all that many really sad scenes – but it’s useful when it does.

Often once I start writing, I write myself out of a bad mood – it’s great therapy. I’ve never sat down at my desk and not been able to write a thing – but I’m pretty stubborn that way – I won’t let myself get up until I’ve at least got a few words down.

Hope you can write through your own bad moods. And even if you are too wrecked to physically write, keep the story in your head and think about what your characters are up to in the scene you are about to approach next. Always keep them in your head.

Agatha Christie said she did her best plotting while washing the dishes – she must have had a lot of clean dirty dishes – her plots are fab!

Yours in writing,
SarahX