tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post1968869616163860517..comments2024-03-09T11:34:22.175+00:00Comments on The History Girls: Do you have a moment? by Imogen RobertsonMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-56893738790899231462012-03-21T23:52:52.948+00:002012-03-21T23:52:52.948+00:00Sharpening pencils and OCD desk tidiness are good ...Sharpening pencils and OCD desk tidiness are good displacement activities and then a slant of piercing Spring sunshine on the windows reminds me that they haven't been cleaned since yon time. But I'm under increasing pressure to Tweet, do Blog Tours and Facebook and am terrified not just about the time commitment but also the potential drain on creativity.Theresa Breslinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240135723649161949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-61611522613132149532012-03-21T22:27:13.292+00:002012-03-21T22:27:13.292+00:00Penny and Dianne, so true. I often do other 's...Penny and Dianne, so true. I often do other 'small' tasks to avoid getting on with the work, then when I get going and the work starts to flow everything else falls away...Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08925800621947616280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-63222998061932198742012-03-21T21:11:21.798+00:002012-03-21T21:11:21.798+00:00You've touched on a jangling nerve! But bizarr...You've touched on a jangling nerve! But bizarre as it sounds, we can probably all say ... sometimes just being caught up in writing is a solace for other stresses.Dianne Hofmeyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222157214605257030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-70084968167841734302012-03-21T16:24:26.959+00:002012-03-21T16:24:26.959+00:00Hardly dare to comment on this one, especially wit...Hardly dare to comment on this one, especially with your production rate and my almost none. Oh dear: a very dark and sooty pot over here in my corner.<br /><br />But it is hard to find the right rhythm of life for each particular stage of a book, especially when there are families and friends who have their own patterns. <br /><br />There's also so many short-term, distracting activities that authors are encouraged to do that can be just that bit easier or "completeable" than facing the damn empty page or screen. <br /><br />Courage, Imogen!Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-34358744823348433742012-03-21T16:15:59.953+00:002012-03-21T16:15:59.953+00:00You are all very wise and helpful. I'm going f...You are all very wise and helpful. I'm going for a walk around the park then I shall clear some admin tasks out of the way and ignore the washing up, but mostly I shall be thinking about being a happy pig in a revolving door.Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08925800621947616280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-11333854760427682392012-03-21T11:05:05.909+00:002012-03-21T11:05:05.909+00:00I really empathise with your struggle! I have trie...I really empathise with your struggle! I have tried lots of writing regimes but have finally reconciled myself to the fact that I do not write at the same time and in the same way from one day to the next. What works best for me is to be well-slept and fairly organised (food in house, not too many other nagging tasks) before I begin.Yellow Brick Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08017822068691824050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-75286539008851738182012-03-21T10:11:11.074+00:002012-03-21T10:11:11.074+00:00How do I manage my time? I hope you're joking....How do I manage my time? I hope you're joking. Like you, I'm childless, and my partner has his own flat, and we take turns in cooking over the weekend - but my house is a mess, the floors carpeted with scrap paper, magazines, books, etc - the garden's gone feral - you can't put a cup down for sketch-maps, to-do lists, plot diagrams - I two days a week at De Montfort Uni and have to keep up with students - I'm self-publishing, organising the Authors Electric blog (http://authorselectric.blogspot.co.uk) - I'm happy as a pig in wotsit but feel like I'm constantly whirling round in a revolving door. A happy pig in a revolving door! - there's an image.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-79521362083877467142012-03-21T10:04:10.902+00:002012-03-21T10:04:10.902+00:00I try to write for two hours or so a day and if I ...I try to write for two hours or so a day and if I can do that, I feel I'm okay...that generates about four typed pages if I'm lucky. About 1500 words I reckon is good going. I also have lots of other stuff I do: shopping, having lunch with people and so on. I don't work every day, either, so some days have no writing in them at all...if I'm at a school all day, say. Or if something comes up. In other words, I don't do nearly as much writing as I should. I never work at night, either. I reckon you're doing brilliantly and I wouldn't beat yourself up!adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-30382895923810144062012-03-21T09:57:24.327+00:002012-03-21T09:57:24.327+00:00Everyone works differently. I find I do need time ...Everyone works differently. I find I do need time to let ideas settle and work through my mind. If I don't give myself time to go for walks or bike rides or swims or whatever (it has to be alone, if I take the kids they talk to me and it doesn't work) then I spend hours awake at night while things gel. I've always been way too busy for the things I need to do, so a lot of my thinking time does need to be on the go. But when I try to make myself sit and write day after day, I end up throwing a lot of stuff away that I'd never have written in the first place if I'd thought it through. <br />There's a difference between thinking time and time-wasting, of course. But it's rather blurry and indistinct.Marie-Louise Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006940874591015786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-89892374194741261532012-03-21T09:55:12.074+00:002012-03-21T09:55:12.074+00:00SA my mum's to do lists always start 'writ...SA my mum's to do lists always start 'write to do list' which I kind of admire! Jo, I like the 'walk in the park' philosophy. That does work for me sometimes, because, like Harriet, I can get frozen if I start stressing. You're right. We have to be careful not to waste time by stressing about time management. I shall ignore the accounts and build a zen garden on my desk. Let me just write that on my new to do list...Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08925800621947616280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-40374858313747056992012-03-21T09:31:08.759+00:002012-03-21T09:31:08.759+00:00Thank you so much for raising this subject, Imogen...Thank you so much for raising this subject, Imogen! Time - & the organisation of it - is something very much on my mind at the moment: the subject of quite a lot of what feels like flailing, tangle-haired anxiety, in fact! For the first time I'm trying to manage lots of events, plus blogging, FBing, tweeting and - oh yes! - writing the WIP... and all within the hours of 9.15-3pm (when the kids need picking up from school), weekdays only, term-time only... Aargh! But what frustrates me more than anything else is the time that gets wasted when I become stressed about time... because if I panic, I can't work creatively. I need doppelgängers, several of them - yes, that's the answer...H.M. Castorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716936870601385683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-7386602484498630072012-03-21T09:23:41.311+00:002012-03-21T09:23:41.311+00:00I have given up my strict working timetable. I fai...I have given up my strict working timetable. I failed to keep to it so often it was deeply discouraging. Now I just do the best I can - and enjoy it so much more. And I don't feel bad if I have a sudden urge to walk on days of precious sunshine.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-80460239810242024582012-03-21T08:59:45.903+00:002012-03-21T08:59:45.903+00:00You obviously need more to do, Imogen! Tasks expan...You obviously need more to do, Imogen! Tasks expand to fit the time available, but they can't take more time than there is so if you add more to your list, the things will have to squeeze up to make room. I hope. That's my theory. But then, my house is filthy and my VAT return always late.... Fire-fighting, as usualStroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.com