What's gone on this week
It was a big transition week this week with lots of things coming to a close or approaching coming to a close. Two big projects at work that have absorbed a lot of my time over the last year are finally in the home stretch. There was a big crunch at the beginning of the week, but by the end of the week it was over and things really loosened up. I'm also on the home stretch, the last five chapters, of my current novel draft which I'm hoping to finish is another week. It got me thinking about endings, specifically with my creative projects, and how I approach them.
My usual pattern when finishing something is probably similar to a lot of people's. Despite my best efforts things tend to pile up and at the end I'm working flat out to get everything done. It requires a huge amount of effort and I'm often exhausted afterwards. My well ends up depleted and I find transitioning to a something new difficult to impossible. The last creative project that I burned through I ended up needing over three months before I could engage in a new endeavor. I just didn't have anything left in the tank to spend.
How long to wait before diving into a new project is not obvious. Sometimes I'm itching to start the next thing right away. Sometimes I'm not in the mood. I crave freedom from deadlines and the ability to dream and ditz around. In either case being suddenly confronted with lots of time and space is discombobulating. Where there was structure and boundaries there's none. Being thrown off balance is pretty much a given.
Is it possible to avoid this? I don't know. I think all parts of the creative process are important and trying to skip one part is not conducive to healthy creative life. In the case of my current project my deadline is self imposed so it is up to me as to whether or not I want to extend it or push to meet it. Part of me wants to push and to surf the adrenaline high that comes with that. I have another project that I want to dive back into after this - a second draft. After being in first draft mode for so long I'm really excited to work with something that's already on the page. (Check back with me in a few weeks to see if I still feel that way!) But part of me just wants to let it flow at its own pace so I can end in a relaxed fashion and glide into the space beyond.
How do you end things? How would you like to end things?
Garden Update
Planning some of the changes I want to make before next spring. I'm going to change the structure along with some of the plants. I've got a couple of plants to divide and a couple of plants to pot on. I haven't been able to do much because I've been putting a bunch of energy into getting my draft done, but I want to do some of the potting and dividing before my vacation in a few weeks. So, more details soon.
Also the cosmos and nasturtiums are blooming. Hooray! And the calendula is not. Oh well.
What I'm loving lately
See's Candy. I will forever associate my grandmother with See's Candy because she always had some in her house. Victorian Toffee was her favorite. I don't tend to eat a lot of candy, but when she passed away recently I went down to the store and bought a small tub of it to bring to the funeral. It was a small affair with just immediate family. We passed it around the circle as we shared memories. Then I brought the rest home and ate most of it over the following week. So good.
Word Count
2370