How does writing fit into your daily life? What’s your ideal time to write, and why? Do you “write on schedule” or “when the spirit moves you”?
This Write on Wednesday just never seems to get done on time…. Does that say something about my writing schedule, or lack there of?
I actually have a pretty strict scheduled time for writing, but what happens within those hours isn’t quite as strict. I can be carried away from my set plan by all of the tempting blogs out there, and in a few seconds I am far, far away from my original goals. I would probably be more successful if I turned the internet off when I am supposed to be writing…….
During the summer, I go to the Humboldt Café five or six mornings a week. During the school year, it is only on the weekend and the occasional day off. I get a lot more writing done when I am not at home, where there are so many distractions: refrigerator, vacuum, good book, dog, telephone ringing, children, weeds to pull, and countless other wonderful things to do. Not that writing isn’t wonderful – I love writing.
I get here around 8 a.m. and I leave at noon. I talk to people occasionally, but everyone who knows me, knows I am writing, so they pretty much leave me alone. A friend I haven’t seen much of lately, just walked up to me and said, “You have such a look of concentration on your face, breathing through your nose, it is amazing you don’t have to come up for air.”
So here, I don’t hear the music, the people talking around me, the coffee grinders, the roaster turning the beans, and whatever else is going on that I am not hearing! And I don’t have a cell phone.
I write at home, too, but it is sporadic – whatever the schedule can bear. And look who’s waiting for a walk! She can tell time.
Today is catch up, announce, sort through, throw away, and otherwise clear my desk so I can clear my mind.
Laurence Peter said, “If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” (Too funny. Yes, he is the originator of the Peter Principle.) I need to clear my desk regularly, however. It gets extremely messy, and then my mind starts to get blurry, too. Once the desk is clear, I can think about one thing at a time again. I have this conversation with my daughters regularly:
“Do not talk on the phone while you are driving. Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time.”
“Not true, Mom. I can do both at once! Watch.”
“Nooooooooo, look out for that squirrel!”
“Ooops.”
You know that we can do something on automatic pilot while also doing something you are focused on, but you can’t focus on two things at the same time. It is not possible. You do not believe me? Then try this experiment from Aza Raskin:
Think about the about the taste of chocolate (that glorious silky rush of sweet earthy flavor) at the exact same time as you add 47 and 56. Really try. At the same time. If it makes your brain fuzzy in the way your mouth feels after you’ve had an unripe banana, you’re in good company: it’s impossible. You can switch back and forth really quickly, but you can’t actually think about both things at the same time.
I really like the use of chocolate as part of this experiment.
Back to clearing my desk to unclutter my mind. If it is clean and orderly, I can take one task at a time from the pile that is organized according to due date, and I get a lot more done. Here goes with mental desk clearing, after which, I have committed to the physical desk clearing:
#1 New Banner!
I am pleased to draw your attention to my new banner, courtesy of my blog buddy, Deb at Vintage Moon Studio. There is also a button on the side bar if you are interested in visiting her site. Deb is a wonderful artist, and also has a store at Etsy with her fabulous artwork. If you are in the market for a new banner, send Deb an email. Not incidently, she is great to work with.
#2 The Coffee House Series.
I am very excited to have some cool, coffee house posts coming up in the next month. My number one (and pretty much only) addiction in life is coffee, especially if I am drinking it in a coffee shop. Whenever I travel, the first thing I look for is a coffee shop. I avoid chains at all costs – my experience has been there is little personality to be found there.
At my personal office – Alterra’s Humboldt Café, my first order of the day is always a cappuccino. After that, I will drink a couple cups of coffee. Afternoon is for tea. In the winter, at dinnertime, I can drink a whole pot of English Breakfast all by myself. A lovely Chai latte is good any time of the day or year. Combine caffeine, coffee house, reading and writing; I am in absolute heaven. Check out this You Tube video – this is how I start every, delightful day, thanks to the wonderful barista’s at Alterra.
Sorry, got sidetracked. Back to books.
First up in the Coffee House Series will be an interview with F. Scott Savage. Scott is the author of Far World - Water Keep, the first in a four part YA fantasy series. Scott is meeting me at my office at the end of the month, and a review of his book and the interview will be coming up the first week in August. There will also be a book give-away! Scott has autographed a copy of the ARC (advanced reader copy) that I will send to the contest winner. What is the contest? I haven’t figured that out yet; I’ll let you know.
#3 The Coffee House Series.
Sandra Balzo is the author Uncommon Grounds, the first in a delightfully funny series starring Maggie Thorson. Maggie owns a coffee shop, which is what first attracted me to this book. Coincidently, they happen to take place in Brookwood, a pseudonym for a suburb of Milwaukee. Sandra has also agreed to meet me at the Humboldt Café for a chat. I will post a review of the book the day before the interview is posted, in early August. The first book in the series, Uncommon Grounds, will also be given away in a contest. If you enjoy mysteries that make you laugh at the same time, be on the lookout for this.
That is it for the ‘announce’ part of my desk clearing. I will deal with the rest of the catching up, sorting, tossing, cleaning chores by myself. See what a nice clean desk looks like? Now I can really get something done. Or not. Here comes the dog with the leash in her mouth. Oh well.
COME BACK EVERY DAY THIS MONTH TO OPEN A NEW DOOR ON THE ADVENT CALENDAR.
Copyright protection in place for all original photographs and text. Do not copy or use unless given specific permission. All rights reserved, 2008.
Thank you.
Farthing by Jo Walton.
Year of wonders: a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks.
S is for silence by Sue Grafton.
At risk by Stella Rimington.
Secret asset by Stella Rimington.
Sudden mischief by Robert B. Parker.
Promised land by Robert B. Parker.
Uncommon grounds by Sandra Balzo.
Welsh rabbit by Douglas Carstens.
Killing time by Caleb Carr.
On writing: a memoir of the craft by Stephen King.
The snow empress by Laura Joh Rowland.
Dark secrets by Peter Turnbull.
Resolution by Denise Mina.
Exile by Denise Mina.
Demon of the air by Simon Levack.
Slip of the knife : a novel by Denise Mina.
The firemaker by Peter May.
The surgeon by Tess Gerritsen.
Walking shadow by Robert B. Parker.
The invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick.
The sword in the stone, by T.H. White
Dark of the moon, by John Sandford.
The Janson directive, by Robert Ludlum.
Plum lucky by Janet Evanovich.
People of the book by Geraldine Brooks.
Death in Holy Orders by P.D.James.
Cross by James Patterson.
Hugger Mugger by Robert B. Parker.
Stumble It!
