16 November, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The British have a saying — “lost the plot” — that I quite like.  It means to go crazy.  So the sentence “Jane lost the plot” means that Jane went crazy.

I’ve adapted this idiom for my own use and given it my own special meaning.  If I’m having a bad writing day, I say that I’ve lost the plot.  Of course I mean it literally.  I’ve lost the plot to my novel, nothing is working, the characters are rebelling, the story doesn’t make sense.  I’ve lost the plot!  It manages to sum up exactly how I feel.

Luckily, the writing is going really well right now.  I am often very productive in the autumn.  The danger time is coming though — Christmas break.  Last year I went off track completely after Christmas and New Year’s and didn’t get back to writing regularly again until April.   That is not an option this year.  Since I entered the third year of my PhD in September I’ve felt a real sense of urgency.  I really have no time to waste.  This is good, because I accomplish nothing without a deadline.  While I’ve always known the general deadline for my PhD, a deadline that was two or more years in the future did little to motivate me.  Quite the opposite, it gave me a sense of security and luxury.  But now I can see my deadline.  I can see how close it is and I’m writing like mad.  It feels good to be writing, to have the pressure on.  I like it.  By the end of this current academic year, I need to have the novel finished and in good shape so that in the fourth year I’m just doing revisions.  I’m not taking all of a fourth year – maybe half of it.  Also, I will start looking for a New York literary agent in February.  That’s my goal.  I have a couple personal recommendations for agents, so I hope that gets my foot in the door.  No time for losing the plot now.

1. Comments RSS

1. Daniela Says:

   November 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

   good that you have been productive! breaks are generally scary – because we know we need them for the matter of sanity but we also know who they can easily break the flow. it is good though that you aware of all this and have a deadline and plans for after the deadline. this helps to focus. good luck!

2. Gregory Says:

   November 21st, 2008 at 10:57 pm

   It is a lack of rationality,

   ‘It means to go crazy’

   a temporary aberration, waddya think?