Story Inspiration or procrastination?
I’ll be the first to admit that I have been a bit ‘slack’ with my blog recently. And of course I have all the excuses - too much happening in my life; too tired; too hot; writer’s block etc. Maybe I am a procrastinator or maybe I’m just easily distracted by things that I love to do. I have been working in the local library; gardening; harvesting strawberries; picking and brewing elderflower cordial; started another weaving project; painting and of course … READING!
That is going to be my big excuse - READING and I’ll justify it as gaining inspiration and not procrastination. Now here lies the next problem. I have several storytelling projects going on at the moment. Two of them are to do with story themes and developing a set of stories carrying a thread that will draw them together at the end. Another is to edit and tweak a couple of stories that a friend has offered to help add some musical accompaniment to. And yet another is to create a collection of short stories that my husband can film as I tell them in a variety of local settings. All very exciting and all requiring research and reading.
BUT, I am still reading for relaxation. As usual there is one author I’m currently fixated on - Haruki Murakami a Japanese novelist who writes across genres. This is my third Murakami book and is a collection of short stories (chosen as acknowledgment to how ‘busy’ I am). Then my non-fiction focus is a fascinating but slow reading book about Vincent van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo, exploring Vincent’s relationships, religious and artistic inspiration and his ever changing mental health. The other two books I’m justifying as part of my research but I will admit I saw them at the library and just had to read them and they do fit my research criteria.
So, what do you think? Do I have a problem or is it just a creative mind? Am I procrastinating? Am I looking for inspiration? Or do I just have such a poor attention span that I need to put post-it notes around the house to remind me to finish one task at a time? Please feel free to comment below, give some tips for prioritising or just share your own method of creative chaos. In the meantime, here’s my current reading list (not my research list):
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami; The letters of Vincent Van Gogh edited by Mark Roskill; Storyland by Amy Jeffs; Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman;