How do you . . .
. . . do it?
The other day on Facebook, a writer posted a question on my wall. How do I write in chaos with so many people in the house? I wish I had a decent answer, but since she posted it, I really have been thinking about it.
Did I mention I am T-28 days and counting until my parents come for a couple of months? And my father is blind? And I have two dogs, a cat who likes to sleep on the stairs (you see where this is going with a blind man, right?), and a Dynamo Boy who likes to throw ball in the house? I have to FEED my parents. It's not like I can lock them in their room and pass them bread and water through a slot in the door. But that means feeding a 15-year-old teen boy who eats enough for three, and my parents, and everyone else, so it's sort of like cooking for 10 people each night. They like roasts and potatoes, biscuits, and--as I am reminded each time I go to the supermarket when they are here--don't forget Dad likes dessert.
There is still carpool hell, band season, a daughter in youth group, and Dynamo Boy's daily outside ball practice ('cause the kid has GOT to burn off energy). Laundry. Oh, the tales I could tell about the mountains of laundry.
And the health stuff, which I am not saying too much about here, but at some point I may blog about it. Suffice it to say . . . about as bad a stretch as I have ever had, and at this point, climbing the stairs is a challenge, let alone climbing them ten times a day.
So how do I write?
At the James River Writers Conference, Lauren Oliver revealed she wrote her first novel on her Blackberry and emailed it to herself in sections while she worked three jobs.
Writers conferences, books by writers, and apocryphal stories about famous writers are full of tales like that. You'd almost dismiss it as bull--I mean, how can someone write an entire novel on a little Blackberry, or in the car pool lane, 30 minutes at a time? Except I am living testament that there are some people who just friggin' do it.
I don't know how except . . . for me, these are my three rules:
- Get over it. Get over the idea that you need silence to feed your Muse, or you need a quiet room, or you need the stars to align in Aquarius.
- Decide how bad you want it. Really. There is a price paid for every great ambition.
- No whining allowed.
So in the end? How do I? How do you?
I got back to my three rules.
Thoughts?
20 comments:
pretty much covers it, although excluding whining... hmmm, isn't that what I have a blog for?
I've said this a few thousand times, but I suppose it's worth saying at least one more time. I wrote most of The Devil's Pitchfork on yellow legal pads during my lunch hour at the hospital where I worked. At that time I was working full time, had 2-3 hours of commuting each day, a wife, 2 kids, and enough paid nonfiction writing work to keep me busy from about 8:00-10:00 every night before I went to bed, with time spent on the weekends. But I really wanted to write that novel, so I did.
Which may be what it comes down to. If you really want to do it, you will.
Mark:
I did not know that! See . . . it was worth repeating. :-)
And yeah, we all indulge in whining, but I set a time limit to mine. LOL!
In my family, the expression is: Nothing to it but to do it.
I haven't had much time over the last two months, but I hope I can finish the third draft soon. Maybe the next few weeks will be better. :-)
Richard:
In Diary of a Blues Goddess, Nan says, "If the Lord brings you to it, he'll bring you through it." All variations on a common theme. :-)
I think to some degree, it's all habit-forming. It's just like going to the gym or eating well ... you create a habit and stick with it. Once you get out of the practice of writing, it seems impossible to start back up. Something is always coming up—there's always something else that needs doing or something you'd rather do. But once it's a habit, there's no reason to even worry about whether you do it or not. You just do. And as for time, I'm one of those people who believes there is ALWAYS time for stuff you want to do. Most people, including myself, spend an inordinate amount of time on things all day that have little or no purpose (Facebook, I'm looking at you ...). So I don't see it as a "time" question as much as a mindset question.
I don't know. It's a mystery. :-) I do know it's harder for me to get as much done as I used to, when I used to blog every day, run a piano studio, do taekwondo, workout, and write. Now I've cut out the first three and I write less. Drives me nuts! I think I'm falling into a rhythm though, finally.
The more I do, the more I have time to do? Kind of like that. Or at least it seems that way until I hit that tipping point where I have to start cutting back.
And yes, stop playing games or watching so much TV (even minus the commercials). A lot of it is about priorities.
What do I really want to accomplish? If it's a particular writing goal, then I know I can do it. I just have to make it a priority.
Whining permitted - this is a limited time offer. :-)
Jon:
Definitely. I will, for example, watch MAYBE one TV show a season--like I watch Amazing Race--if I am home. That's it. I will Hulu something on occasion, or watch Law&Order reruns late at night if I can't sleep, or if I am sick in bed. But I definitely excise time "wasters" (to ME, time wasters . . . my definition of them).
Natasha:
If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it, LOL!
Sarah:
Thanks for the whining coupon. :-)
And you know, a lot of it is time management. I am amazed that what I PREDICT a project will take (like an editing project or ghosting project) is almost always PRECISELY what it will take and I budget time accordingly.
I don't know how you do it either but as purely a reader, I am certainly glad you do.
Travis:
Aww . . . thanks! :-)
Have you ever wanted to smack someone for saying something stupid? A few semesters ago a fellow student showed her arrogance as she announced, "Oh, the only way I can write is to be in the perfect setting (babbling creek, thunder and lighting, etc.) like all the great writers do."
Seriously.
I'll admit that I take breaks away from writing if my head isn't in it, and yeah, I like quiet which is why I have doors. But I've never felt that the "perfect setting" improved the craft. After all, like writing, perfection is subjective. :-)
Kath:
LOL! I, too, admit there are DEFINITELY more ideal conditions. But . . . you write with what the good Lord (or universe, life, gods, etc.) gave you. :-)
I think its hysterical you saying you whine - you never, ever complain! I know everything you've faced and I feel an urge to whine. As in typical Erica form, you handle it with grace and quiet eloquence ... Jon and I both have felt overwhelmed at times - and then thought how you would do it ... and then we find a way :) xo BB
BB:
Awww . . . sniffle.
xoxoxoxoxox
Exactly. We have six kids. I live by those rules.
Posey:
Wow (hats off to you!). :-)
Though I feel like the blind dad with the cat underfoot adds to the excitement around here. ;-)
I pretty much follow the rule that no one else cares if I do this or not, so if I want it, I have to do it.
I think that's the writer mantra, no?
I'm secretly looking forward to your posts while your parents are visiting. :)
Melanie:
You . . . are evil. ;-)
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