Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Glamorous Life of Writing

I've always been a bit puzzled by authors who prefer to write in the middle of a busy cafe, or some such nonsense. Not me. I need alone time, and lots of it.

Which is kind of funny when you consider that my life offers very little in the way of solitude. The best I can do is get up early, though I really don't like to do that either. Nevertheless, at least during the school year, I can wedge in an hour in the a.m., but at sixty minutes, I'm only getting started.

Lately, however, it doesn't seem to matter when or where I try to write. There have been so many serious and real-life thoughts occupying my mind that there's not much room for creativity.

I did have an interesting insight today, though. Sometimes I can find solitude at unexpected times--say, when I'm grilling chicken for dinner. And when it's difficult to still my mind for some focused writing, maybe I just need to do something else for a little while instead of staring at the computer screen. Something that lets my mind wander, but keeps my body active--like vacuuming.

Rats. Sounds like I should be doing more chores. That is not the glamorous writer's lifestyle I meant to sign up for. ;-)