2nd January
“I stared, hypnotically, at the rectangular contraption at my feet with loathing and nausea. Wiping away beads of sticky perspiration from my forehead, I forced myself to stand on the machine. With a Formula One heartbeat and loud, laboured breathing, I knew that this moment couldn’t be avoided. Oh God, no, help me pleeaaaase…. I can’t do it…..oh. Silence.”
Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. In my imagination I’d gained 28 lbs since quitting smoking 3½ years ago, but my electronic scales revealed an increase of 21. Things aren’t always quite as terrible as they seem, when we lift our heads from the sand and face reality. I became the victor in the war against nicotine and whilst I haven’t reached the obesity stage (yet) it is time to fend off the increasing bulge.
Weight is not the only well-covered bone of contention in my life. Five years ago, I started writing a children’s adventure novel. There are only 30,000 words of my child-like imagination typed on crisp white sheets, but there are treble that number in scribbled notes.
It is SO easy to make excuses and put things off until tomorrow, next week, next month, after Christmas, in the New Year, when work is less busy…. the list goes on. Also, I’ve been so content with the love of my life, my other chance of happiness, my husband. Five years ago I was miserable and it’s often said that creativity comes from adversity. Today, I’ve learned how to love and life is wonderful, apart from a couple of inky blots on the landscape: my weight issue and the increasing desire to blow the dust of my manuscript and conjure up the inspiration to continue with the book.
To help plan a routine of when to work, write, exercise, etc., I’ve decided to only blog one day per week. Next post: 16th January.
12 comments:
Now all is made clear and I can understand your reasoning - there are simply not enough hours in the day to do everything so it is important to prioritisze. As a fellow novel writer I wish you well with your story - and your exercise regime!
Thanks for your good wishes Steve -you are right about not enough hours in the day, but I do tend to waste a lot of time on the PC! Not sure my mind is organised enough to stick to a routine - one can but try.
Good to see you're getting so much support from your blog pals. How about a feature on mother-in-law jokes? :-)
Hi darling …
As you well know of course I just luuuurve my mother-in-law and I could not possibly think of any jokes about her now could I?
On the other hand ….
My first mother-in-law was always welcome in my house ... it meant the mice threw themselves on the traps when she arrived ...now that is just nasty Trevor – slap yourself!!
I suggest the diet can go by the board for tonight – I am going to get a nice bottle of Red in a minute … so your routine can be slackened tonight x
That's a good idea - to set aside some specific time to write - a necessary move! As fun as it can be, blogging IS time-consuming. And you're right, PCs are distracting - so easy to start surfing the net etc...
Good luck with the book! What's it about?
Oh OC, I'm glued to my chair for hours once I start on the computer. Think I'll do my writing on an old laptop offline so I'm not tempted to keep checking emails, surfing, going on Facebook, looking at everyone else's blogs.... you know!
The book is about 2 children who are pulled through a porthole into a weird village full of quirky characters... a bit like where we live really! I won't bore you with too much detail. Thanks for asking and for your good wishes... have a great weekend :-)
(Trevor, the wine was lovely - I feel a bit guilty now tho! xx)
Know what you mean about the misery/creativity conundrum Annie. I always joked my perfect man would be the one who went out the door in the morning with his suitcases packed saying 'Goodbye dear, that's it, I'm leaving you', coming back again at 6 with a cheery 'Hello dear, I've decided I love you after all and have come back. Now how much have you written?'
And my emotional life has been a bit of a see-saw, albeit not quite *that* bad! However I now find I CAN write when happy, which is gratifying, so roll on that full-time ideal man!
Laura, hehe I like your description of the perfect man to boost creativity - what an emotional roller-coaster!
That ideal man will roll in soon :-)
err, err ..
'Laura, hehe I like your description of the perfect man'
... disappear for 6 months? .... errr ....errr .. hon is that a hint? x
ooops just re-read it - 6 pm not 6 months!! - must learn to check things!
Don't worry Trev .... I make mistakes all the time. Just noticed that I typed PORTHOLE in my response to Old Cheeser, and I meant to type PORTAL.....doh!
Learning to write when happy was a major break-through for me... though I admit my creative juices are at their fertile best when my spleen is being vented.
Urgh!
I have similar thoughts Steve - I am best motivated to write when I have the ‘passion’ … that passion might be anger - it might be joy – it might be frustration .. The one thing I know is I write better quality stuff when I am happy AND have a purpose.
Setting a personal deadline - that is real - is the absolute clincher so that I write with a purpose. I also like to have short deadlines - Having a target date is like hanging – it concentrates the mind.
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