Now or Later

I wish I was one of those people who could spring (or even crawl) out of bed at 5 in the morning. I feel that I would surely have time to write every day if I did that. As it is, I barely give myself enough time to eat breakfast and wash my face before work. Then evenings are spent exercising, cleaning, cooking, and being with my fiance. Sometimes I have a chance to write at work, but I can't rely on it.

I've always thought that I need to reach the place where writing IS my work. That way I can come home in the evenings and have nothing to do but relax and play! So I work jobs that leave me more free time than most. And I try to fill my free time with writing, but I'm not always successful.

One of the main Time Stealers for me is Screen Time, and by that I mean time in front of the Internet and television. There's nothing wrong with a little email, reading the news, and researching things to do. And cuddling up in front of a movie with my man and a bowl of popcorn is awesome. But I do these things to excess because I am bored, insecure, tired, or depressed.

It's a constant struggle with myself, to devote my time to that which makes me happiest in the long run, even if it's the more challenging choice in the moment. I so often choose what is most pleasurable in the moment, even if it means I have to suffer later on.

My role model for overcoming this inner sloth is Haruki Murakami, the bestselling Japanese author who gets up at 4 am every morning to write for 5 hours, then goes running for several hours after that. From what I can gather, he doesn't think too much about other alternatives. He decides on his course of action and just does it.


photo of haruki murakami

First Step

Yes, I did it. Phew.

The draft of the novel is about 200 pages, single spaced. On one hand it feels like a giant achievement. My honey took me out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. On the other hand I am aware of how far I have to go! I have started revising. I'm doing it by hand with a red pen. Correcting the sludgy parts is pretty easy, it's then changing them in the computer that is taking time.

I'm already ruminating over the next novel in my head. I mentioned it months ago in this blog, had started it, dropped it, etc.

My goal is to finish the revision by my wedding in six weeks. I recognize that this is probably unrealistic, but I'd love to not think about how to fix the ending while on my honeymoon.

Busy but/and Writing

Well, I'm picking this up again. I don't know why. It's not like I don't have too much to do already without writing blog entries. I'm working six days a week as a massage therapist, planning my wedding that is less than eight weeks away, taking care of this body that seems to require increasing amounts of time and attention the older I get, and maintaining my relationships and home.

And writing. I've been writing fairly regularly again since about 2 months ago. I am several pages away from finishing the first draft of a novel. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I started this project 6 years ago and have abandoned it for years at a time. More on what got me back writing later. For now, I'm off to write. Trying to do an hour a day, getting at least 30 minutes in, if not more.

Oh, I'm reading a great book on writing. The title is How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead. It's by Ariel Gore. Very inspiring and fun.


photo of ariel gore