I've actually made good progress this week, despite the fact that it's been terribly difficult trying to summon up any kind of motivation since my father died. I now understand what people mean when they say they find themselves unable to concentrate after a bereavement, because I certainly feel like my brain's flitting from one thing to the next without settling on anything for more than a couple of seconds. However, I've found that as long as I set myself achievable targets, then I can make progress.
By achievable, I mean minute, bordering on the microscopic. For example, yesterday I set myself the target of finishing a paragraph. I got stuck stuck there last week and finally moved on to something else - I think the problem was that I kept telling myself I had to finish the chapter, and that seemed like an impossible task. However, once I told myself that I just had to write a couple of sentences, I had no problem getting down to work. And once I got going I didn't stop at the paragraph, but carried on writing for most of the afternoon and finished the chapter. But the point is, even if I hadn't got further than the end of the paragraph, at least I would have achieved my target and moved my story forward. That's better than getting nowhere at all.
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