Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Should I Play or Should I Write Now


Would I write for 15 hours straight if I could? Probably not, I am too easily distracted. (oh look, something shiny!) There's always something that needs to be cleaned, or laundry that needs to be washed, shopping that needs to be done, or kids, husband, mother, or dog that needs attention. The list goes on and on. Yesterday, I found out it's possible to lock yourself in your room with the laptop, ignoring everyone, and it's OK; no major disasters. Although I'd be pushing my luck if I did that everyday. The only time I usually write is after my kids and husband leave for the day. Every morning there's a small block of time before my mother wakes up and turns on her TV. Usually by 11:00 when I'm struggling with writers block, Martha Stewart's annoying voice creeps through my mothers bedroom door. That's when I give up for the day.

I deal with writers block a lot. I think I have all of these great ideas, but putting them together coherently is hard. My brain feels disorganized. There is so much to think about when putting a story together, it's mind boggling. My plan is to get a special spot in our soon to be finished basement for me to write. I will post motivational words and quotes on the wall and have a board to post random ideas. I can keep reference and favorite YA books nearby, then maybe I can organize my thoughts and feel more open to writing.

I never dreamed when I started writing my current project, that it would take so long. Something occured to me today when I was cleaning the floor. I noticed the name of the mop was "Quickie". I thought wouldn't it be great if that referred to my writing. But then I realized there are things, like cleaning that should be quick, and others like writing (and one more I can't say) that should never have the "quickie" connotation. Some things will take time if you want to get it right, and I need to keep reminding myself that.

In keeping with my fellow bloggers, I wanted to share a picture of my furry companion. His name is Toby. He feels it is his purpose in life to protect me from random blowing things, so windy days aren't conducive to quiet writing, especially in the fall.

While I'd like to have more time to write, all of these distractions are my life, and I wouldn't give up any of them.

6 comments:

  1. Does this mean I have to post a picture of our one fish? I don't like to feel left out.

    Does the Quickie mop at least perform well?

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  2. I think Jim is the only one of us that is pulling off a "quickie" as far as writing goes. 15 hours, that is so insane. Maybe this should be posted under his entry, but I feel more empathy toward you and your distractions. I think once you figure out how you want to approach your novel things will get a bit easier. You do have some good ideas and eventually they'll get organized in your head, or you'll go insane. Trust me, the former will happen before the later. I only say this because sometimes I find myself going completely nuts trying to translate an idea to paper, and I always manage to pull it off. Even if I'm only halfway nuts before the end, I've kept most of my sanity. And when its all over, I think to myself "I love writing."

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  3. I remember why I write short sentence books! I can have the entire house to myself and get Bedazzled with BeJeweled even with a perfectly good javalina story needing just a little tweaking! But no letting you off the hook, Ellen, until we hear how your current project works out!
    Monta - maybe a stuffed animal or unshaven husband?

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  4. My husband is going through a beard phase although I think he might get a bit insulted:-)

    Having your own space will be great, Ellen. How close are you to completing the project?

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  5. Hopefully we can drywall soon, then It won't be long! By the way, the Quickie does the job. Haha

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  6. Oh, I hope so much for your writing space!! I think it only takes a long time if it's decent stuff and you care about it. Jim can get his books out of his brain "quickly" but he has been revising for years and years. I can't believe how long it takes me to get from planning, researching, etc. to actually getting that first word down.

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