A month or so after I got over Wuhan Virus, I started experiencing post-WuVi (my term) symptoms. Some include short-term memory loss, severe lack of focus (way worse than my normal ADD), and quick exhaustion. These symptoms come and go as they feel like it, disrupting my train of thought and ability to accomplish goals.
You might have noticed my blog has been more miss than hit so far this year.
The thing is, I still have goals that I want to accomplish. I'm frustrated that these symptoms are not allowing me to do so.
When I read Mrs. Kemerer's article about writing through one's moods, this hit home for me. Not necessarily about writing through a wide variety of moods, though that's necessary too. But to write through the symptoms I'm continuing to deal with.
It hasn't been easy since I realized that on June 9. My writing has still seemed to only trickle in the following weeks. Not for lack of trying. Not for lack of motivation. Solely because of symptoms I couldn't seem to lick.
Then I received an e-mail encouragement from the hostess of Go Teen Writers' 100-for-100 Writing Challenge that I'm participating in this summer and autumn. In that e-mail, Stephanie Morrill shared the following quote by James Scott Bell:
"If you're going to be obsessive about
anything in the writing business,
make it your word quota."
This quote reminded me that my word quota still needed to be met consistently despite my not being able to focus well or for long stretches at a time. It made me think back to my pre-WuVi averages of hitting 3-4k a day during a writing camp month. It made me even more determined to get closer to that count for the remainder of the current KDWC camp (July 2021).
On each of the next three days, I wrote over 1,000 words. The fourth day, I only reached about 700, but I followed that up with a day in which I wrote over 5,500 words. I can't tell you how big of an accomplishment those word counts felt like after having such a rough first half of the year where my writing was concerned.
I'm glad God sent me that pair of reminders when He did, because those were the exact moments I was feeling helpless to do anything about the symptoms I was facing and the lack of accomplishment because of them.
Now, I'm not saying I'll be able to force my way through the symptoms each and every time. There's still a battle to be waged here. But I will tell you this: I'm better armed, metaphorically speaking, for the rest of the war.
What reminders have you seen lately that help you accomplish your goals?
How do you write through your moods?
What tips do you have for battling through weird symptoms an illness might give you?
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