Yeah, I'm definitely struggling with having taken on too much.
I don't think anyone can properly frame or provide a comprehensible context for which to explain to youth, 'You will literally run out of time every day when you're an adult.'
At the same time, it seems like tempting fate if I were to complain about it.
Really, it's something that's being sorted out by attrition, and if there's one thing I learned about myself in those first couple years of being a father, it's that your real priorities will always bubble up to the top, and you'll discover if you're a good or a terrible fucking human being real quick. I'm glad I came out a good man. I've seen some other guys do the opposite.
It's one of those 'good problems to have,' or as trendy classist dickwads are fond of saying, it's a 'first world problem.' I've got a goob job, a great family, and a fair number of people that wish to engage me in various activities. I just wish I had more time for the writing and gaming.
I guess the opposite would be that I'd be unemployed and everyone would hate spending time with me. I'm glad to be on the positive side of that scale.
I've gone about a week straight with being serious about dropping weight. I've been exercising, I've been improving my diet, and I'm seeing results. I plan to continue this behavior and do what I can to finally make women jealous of my wife.
I got a great story idea last week after an odd encounter with a gruff neighbor who's rather fond of a bizarre lawn ornament. It's something about a neighborhood that welcomes some rather bizarre hillbilly neighbors that bring with them the scarecrow from hell. I imagine it being made form some badly twisted black wrought iron and maybe it comes to life at night and shit. I dunno. I banged out a page or two, and am eager to get back to it. Just not enough hours in the day.
Not much else to say.
-Blaine
On sale now!
OMG. INORITE? I mean, where does the day go? And, oddly, with me waiting for THREE WEEKS on my writing group (they're going to tell me how much my novel sucks tomorrow), I'm in this odd conundrum: can't work on current project because people are fixing/reading it. Can't work on a new project because I have to keep my current character's voice in my head. Do you know, how oddly liberating, and yet completely clueless I am about all the time I USED to spend writing?
ReplyDeleteAnd so I do stupid shit like make $30 sandwiches and watch a Rizzoli and Isles marathon. I mean, WTF. An aside: I did not know Tess Gerritsen was Asian. It gives me hope, that I can still be published without writing ethnic Joy Luck Club crap.
Hey Iris, yeah, I know this other guy who's got your book but has been putting it off because he wants to be able to give it the focus it deserves. I'll tell that asshole to hurry up.
DeleteLet's talk after your group gives you the review.
One thing I'd suggest while having some 'downtime' from writing is scribbling ideas on post-its. I've done it for years and helps a lot. Or even use a note-taking app on your phone.
Also, the character's voice isn't as fragile as you might think. I find that re-reading the last chapter before I resume always puts me right back where I need to be. Trust yourself to be more durable and reliable.
It never occurred to me that ethnicity and sex were still parameters for a writer's marketability, but just perusing the marketplace, I can absolutely see why that would be a concern for you. Noted.
Also, you're a strong enough author that I don't think you have much to worry about.
-Blaine
nice work on the weight loss, boss. if you want some tips that are healthy, i've somehow lost 10lbs in the last month simply by eating nothing but fruit for my first two meals of the day and cutting out coffee (i never drink soda anymore).
ReplyDeleteas for the time thing...yeah. i'm right there with ya, even though i don't have a kid. the balance of work/life/passion is a tricky one that i haven't adapted to yet since being out of grad school. oddly enough, i was busier then, but got more work done. no idea why that worked the way it did.
and iris, though i don't know you, blaine is spot on. never worry about losing your character's voices if you want to work on something else. those voices will always come back because you know inherently who those characters are and what they would do in the situations you place them in. as long as you're just writing, you're in good shape. i often find that when i work on several projects at once, some of them inform the others in ways i couldn't have previously imagined, which only works towards making everything better in the end.
-b
Thanks, Buch. The soda is out, and I'm actually on a very, very high protein diet, plus I've been running again, and I've been dropping between a pound and a pound and a half each day. Fruits are good for sure, though, especially if you're in San Francisco.
DeleteYa know, it's funny, because I flash back to when I wrote my first novel and I was busy as hell, but I had that daily process built into my life, and I adhered strictly to that page-a-day rule, and if I'm going to be serious about any of three incomplete novels I have, I need to get back to that. I'm actually contemplating shifting my writing to first thing in the morning. I know Toni Morrison does it that way, and it's something I've never tried, so I'm curious. Something about being in such proximity to a dream state almost makes it attractive.
I agree 100% about disparate projects whispering to each other. It's neat stuff, especially if they're contrasting in tone.
-Blaine