Time seems the subject of the day . . . go here to read Lady Glamis' post, and here to read Michelle McLean's post about time. Really, the posts have more to due with lack of time.
Here's a day in my life:
5:50 AM - alarm goes off, time to get up, shower, get dressed, clean the litter boxes (fun, fun, fun).
6:15 AM - walk the boyz, beg them to do their business, bond a bit with them and the cats.
6:30 AM - leave for work
7:00 AM - at work, check Blogger and Facebook, email my best friend, work, work, work, some more, take lunch at some point.
5:00 PM - go home
5:30 PM - get home, feed the cats, bond with the boyz and Frank (if he's awake), prepare dinner if cooking, eat, clean up.
6:45 PM - send Frank off to work.
7:00 PM - work on writing.
8:00 PM - walk the boyz.
8:15 PM - bond with the boyz for 20 to 30 minutes.
9:00 PM - go to bed, if not already in bed. Yes, I go to bed early, but, I normally wake up around 3:30 AM when Frank gets in from work and never go fully back to sleep.
This is the normal routine for me. Oh, and I try and fit excercise in there at least 3 days per week. So, as you can see, there's not always a ton of time for writing.
Once upon a time, in the way of fairy tales and happy endings, I used to stress about the time I was spending not writing. I no longer do. I do the best I can. I write when I can write! I write when the words flow freely. I write when I'm obsessing about writing. I write when the mood strikes me. I'm in revision mode right now, and so I try to do a chapter per night during the week, and much, much more on the weekends.
Writing is a gift, a talent some might say, and I don't believe we can force ourselves to write, at least not with the brilliance we are capable of writing. Sometimes, we have to take a break from writing and spend some time on ourselves, our families, our children, our pets, the writing we've been neglecting, or the other passions (i love to cook) in our life. Sometimes, we have to step away from Blogger and Facebook and Twitter and focus our energies on writing. Sometimes, we have to check in on Blogger and Facebook and Twitter and see what our friends (writers and not) are doing.
In the end, our brilliance will escape into the publishing world when it happens, and not a moment sooner, no matter how much time we spend worrying about how much time we're spending doing other things and not writing! So, stop stressing, stop worrying, and just know that you will find the time to write!
S
3 comments:
Thank you for these thoughts, Scott. Much needed today.
Thanks for sharing the look at your day and the good advice :). It's true that sometimes we can make ourselves crazy trying to write every spare moment and need to take some time to relax.
Then again there are those days when we need to close out the Internet and just write already ;).
It's all about balance, I suppose.
Lady Glamis - you're welcome!
Rebecca - I think I've done a post or two about balance. That was my New Year's Resolution a few years back. I seriously try to balance the things in my life. Sometimes, it just gets crazy! I normally try to stay away from the Internet in the early evening when I first get home, and on the weekends, for the most part.
S
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