Plan Distraction Action

I am knee deep and back visiting the world of 1800's Romania.  All my old friends are themselves mired in intrigues and intense, suspenseful actions in the hopes of saving their world. They know that what happens in their lives now will bring about the answer to the question, "how is this going to end?" That is the same question I am asking myself. Yes, I am the writer, the creator. Yet, as the creator you plan and you plot and you envision your story but there are often exciting twists and turns you did not predict but seemed to flow from the pen so easily it was as if the story were meant to take that path no matter what. Maybe Robert Frost took the path less traveled not because he was curious and adventure lie ahead, but rather because he had to. His life was always meant to go down the less traveled path so that he may write about it and expose its secrets.  It is how his own story pushed him to the end.

With only a few more chapters of the book left to write into the first draft I am getting more and more excited to see the words "The End".  You can not rush to the end though.  You still have to put the time and focus into the story and make sure you are giving each chapter it's worthy thought.  These chapters are the most intense for action and consequences.  These chapters are the climax of the long story I have been telling about my characters. 

With a new job and a new baby in the house though it is hard to get too engrossed into the intensity of the story.  I have to work and when my baby makes the cutest faces in the world I have to snuggle her and play with her.  Writing those intense scenes though often take great concentration.  This is hard to achieve when your seven month old baby girl sees you writing and wants to eat the paper or steal the pen or sees you typing away on the computer and believes that this is a cool toy that she wants to try and bang on or at least watch her bollywood videos on.

This month has been unusual.  I started my new job, as previously stated, where I do so much writing, the technical kind.  I also am getting used to a new weekly schedule and commuting in traffic for an hour again.  I was out of work for so long that I am grateful for the work, even though I miss my baby girl.  At the same time, it is a distraction from focusing on my writing.  Additionally, we had very intense presidential elections and, though I will not comment on who I supported, I will say it took me a week to absorb all that intensity.  In all the change, newness, and complications that life has brought, I thought about the top distractions of life and then the top ways to deal with those distractions.  If I had to pick the top five distractions in my life that pull me away from finishing my book they would be:

1.  Work
2.  Baby Leah and family time
3.  Internet
4.  Other writing ideas for blogs or poems
5.  Space Cadet Time

Those are my top five distractions that pull me away from finishing Chapter 31 right now.  So, how do I deal with these distractions so that I can get back to 1800's Romania with gypsies, curses, and crazy families?  The answer, which goes against what many post online everywhere is....I give in to the distraction.

1.  Work - I have to work to pay bills and I am not a best selling author...yet.  I get up in the morning and make the long commute and do my job and then commute home.  At work I get to do a great amount of technical writing so I look at it as an opportunity to grow my abilities as a writing by writing in different formats and styles and for different types of audiences.

2.  Baby Leah and family time - I spend time with my family. They are the ones that I love the most and want to spend my time with.  Since I work during the day I am limited in how much time I get to spend with my family so I try to soak up and relish what time I can.  It may just be sitting there and watching TV with them but I am with them so I am happy.

3.  Internet - Yes, this one could go away, but I am realistic. With Twitter and facebook and news sites and of course the cute pictures of animals, I get distracted but it is another way to relax. (I mean, who could resist this cuteness?)

4.  Other writing ideas for blogs or poems - This is a necessity to stop and write them down.  If I don't write down the idea or the poem I may forget it.  Plus, as a writer this is the continuation of my passion and work.  It could give me ideas for my current book or a new story but it is part of the work of an author to give in to other writing ideas.  It is important to remember though not to get lost in those ideas and forget about finishing your book.

5.  Space Cadet Time - Yes, this sounds crazy.  My Dad would shake his head and simply call it Heather's being a space cadet.  Sometimes when life is pulling you in so many different directions you need time to just escape into your head and process everything.  You need to space out and fly the galaxy even for a moment.  It is like hitting refresh on a web page.  Everything comes back but it may look or work better.  There are times I just need five moments of space cadet time.  It helps so that when I enter back into the story that has become action filled and intense I am able to focus more and get lost in horse drawn carriages and gypsy curses and the pain of tripping over long dresses on a dusty road.

The truth is that distractions happen so turn them into actions.  Turn your distractions into a way to recharge your battery, relax you mind or stimulate your mind, discover new ideas for stories or plot lines or even blog posts.  By thinking of your distractions as actions it may help focus your mind when you are able to set time to write again and not feel frazzled and guilty for time not devoted to your story. You are the author.  It is like a loyal puppy. It is waiting for you and will be there when you are ready to sit down and write again. 

Happy Distraction!  Happy writer!

The Truth About Being A Writer

The door opens slowly with a creak.  Are you leaving into the daylight and the unknown? As you pull the door slowly shut and hear the click of the latch, you feel an extra beat of your heart at the unknown.  What will the day bring?  Can I get through this? Is this routine or will the air electrify with something new? There so many times in our lives when we have to leave home. We walk out that door either facing adventures or routines or the unknown. We hear the door close behind us with a click of the lock and we step out.  Sometimes though the door shuts out the creative and leaves only a day of routine or worse the stank air of downward spiralling emotions.

Baby, unemployment, death, grief, depression and the return of old friends. This has been what my year has been. As those of you who read my blog may have noticed there has been a silence for a year. No posts, no news, no writings to entice nor inform. There is a truth about being a writer that many may not comprehend. At least there is a truth about this writer. Writers live, work, and breath in words and characters and stories but also emotions. When life slides downhill into more of a darkness then the writer can either find inspiration to pull themselves out and reach some understanding of what is happening or they become mired in the emotions that prevent the words from landing on paper.

This year was one of those times when it was a swirl of emotions that ran like a cacophony in my head. The sound of them pushing out the characters and stories that became friends. Sometimes a writer has to face the stark realities of life swirling around them and not revel in the stories of their characters as they watch the words fall on the paper. The emotions of their characters have no space inside the imagination with all the emotions that are reality being faced instead.

Some realities are good. When a baby is born and you watch each day as they grow.  You marvel at the beginnings of a little human struggle and learn to do the basics like roll over, sit up, and stand. You get to experience the absolute joy of their first laugh which will always remain the most melodious sound no matter how old your child gets. However, there is also the roller coaster heading down when you are unemployed, suffer the loss of a family member, and live with anxiety of the future.  Taking care of a new baby while also looking for a job became the sole existence to my days.  It left no time for writing. What little time was left was often spent dulling the brain and anything creative can not pass when that wall is up.

That is not to say that life has to be perfect for a writer to succeed.  There needs to be a level mix often. Writers often write to let go of pain, to understand anxiety, and to release the negatives through characters that become a proxy for their pain.  However, for anyone who has hiked up a hill or mountain can attest; the hard path up will eventually give way so that you have to hike easily down.  You may still have a pebble in your show or an obstacle in your path but you are no longer stretching your muscles to get through the upward climb.

The truth about being a writer is that inspiration can come from anywhere but if you are in the quicksand of emotions you can not move your arms to write and express yourself.  Sometimes you have to wait until someone comes along and offers that branch for you to grab onto to then pull yourself out.  I am again clinging to that branch. So, now when I walk out my door there is expectations of unknown possibilities and when I sit down I can now revel in the words that have flown over the wall to begin writing again.  All I can say is...Welcome Back!