Things Which Are Not Writing

There are a lot of things a writer can do which are not writing. Here's my example list:

• browsing Facebook "just for a minute to see what everyone's been up to in the ten or so hours that have elapsed since I went to bed"
•  checking e-mail
• stopping whatever else I might be doing (which might in some rare cases actually be writing) to switch to the e-mail client when it pops up a "new message" bubble in the corner of the screen
• arranging bookmarks in my browser
• daydreaming about joining SFWA
• reading other writers' blogs

I will stare until you feed me.

There are many other things I do in the morning which are not writing, but these are just a few that happened today. Other things which are necessary but are also not writing include doing laundry, cooking lunch, and feeding the cat. I don't feel I can safely cut out those activities, but some of those in the bullet list can definitely go.

Ironically, in reading through some other writing blogs I came up with the inspiration to write this entry. So how do you know if you're just time-wasting or building up a storehouse of future plot/poem/blog ideas?

When I figure it out, I'll let you know. But here's a guideline: if your activities (aside from the purely necessary ones) aren't feeding your writing, you've probably wandered off the track.

Don't be afraid of the blank page! Once you start writing into it, it's not blank any more! Go! Go forth and create, my little ones! The world is yours for the taking!

Ahem. Keep an eye on your own activities. Set up a schedule for yourself if you have to. It works for some people. But be aware of when you've strayed. And don't, repeat don't, beat yourself up if you do wander. It happens. We're human. And you're allowed. Just catch yourself at it and redirect. Back to work, little creative mind. No more Twitter for you. Put down the list of "Most Interesting Stuff That Doesn't Matter But Will Make Your Co-Workers Laugh Their Butts Off" links from Facebook and open the word processor. Take out the notebook. Scrawl something into your smartphone. Just write. That's what writers do, after all.

The Mountain of Monday

I'm not sure what to write about today, but it's almost nine o'clock and I'd better get something written. I had a busy week last week and I ended it exhausted but determined to Get Things Done starting today. Last night there were loud, flashy thunderstorms which served to keep me from sleeping properly. I awoke with the memory of a dreamed conversation with my father: "Make sure you remember the address of the lot the house is on." I've been groggy all morning so far, even with tea.

My drive to Get Things Done seems to have faded, drummed out by August-like conditions this weekend and the rhythm of the rain overnight. But Buddha Cat is still looking up toward me. He is relentless and silently demanding, encouraging. So I guess I'd better get started.

I have, among non-writing-related tasks this week, what may amount to an inordinate amount of phone calling to do. It might be that the task looks bigger than it is from where I sit right now: trying to wake up, listening to the sounds of cars driving by on the wet road, drawing some spark from the cool air drifting in the window and the sounds of neighbourhood birds calling outside, feeling the weight of not enough sleep on my brain. I dislike spending long amounts of time on the phone. I have a headset to help me work in the background and prevent arm and ear weariness whilst on hold. But the calls are not something I'm looking forward to today. In fact, I suspect I'm going to drag the writing portion of my morning out to forestall the inevitable slog, the questions and statements and explanations repeated over and over to each new person on the phone who doesn't know I've just told this exact thing to five other people this morning, so forgive me if I'm a little short.

I finally have what I need to continue my work for my business client, too. I've gotten out of the habit of doing that work, so there's another thing to get worked into the day. The paperwork sits, waiting to be assessed and tabulated, in plastic grocery bags on my study floor.

On Friday I was so motivated, feeling so accomplished, ready to take on my obligations head-on. It was a great feeling. True to form, though, it's Monday and weariness and the desire to do things other than what needs done are pulling at me. "Ooh, what's in the email?" my monkey mind asks. "Did you feed the cat?" the Judge demands, narrowing his imagined eyes at me. "Can't we just lay down for a few minutes?" whines the part of me where the tiredness lives.

The email can wait. The cat is fed: if she were hungry she'd come scratching at my door. And no, we can't lay down. There's things to be done today, and they won't do themselves. I'm gonna be busy today. I'll see you all later.

Distractions!

I've been quite prone to falling into distractions so far this week. I dialed up WRTI on the print server computer this morning so I could keep the laptop offline, in order to keep from gettting sucked into the Internet instead of writing. I went away to prepare a cup of tea. When I returned I realised my screen saver was boring. I then proceeded to spend half an hour looking at screen savers on my system, finally stopping when one of the image slideshows locked up KDE. Eheheh. So much for the Internet as my only distraction!

When I'm this plagued by monkey mind, it's hard to get anything accomplished. Couple that with the extra fatigue brought on by Extreme Sinus Action! and I'm anything but productive. I'd meditate if I thought I could keep from dozing off in the middle of it.

A chat this weekend with friends about Jim Butcher's latest Harry Dresden novel touched off a discussion on what makes a compelling story. I'll be exploring that later this week. Jim Butcher has a blog over at LiveJournal in which he gives advice for writers. I'll probably be referencing that as well. It's no longer updated, it appears, but it's still chock-a-block full of good stuff.

Let's catch up on the Poem-A-Day Challenge. Today is April 12 13th, and so far I have six poems completed, with two ideas for others. None of them follow the prompts on the website. Le sigh. The enthusiasm I had last week, during the summer weather preview we got in these parts, has faded, replaced by sinus congestion. Not a good trade, I feel. Yet I soldier on, albeit slowly and armed with tissues. The sneezing is getting old, now. Honestly, it can quit any time now. I'm serious.

In a not-really-related note, I'm supposed to be working on the next phase of an adventure I started running a few weeks ago for the roleplaying game Cat. Anything can be an adventure, yes, even a trip to the vet! Anyone who's ever tried to round up even one cat for a veterinarian trip knows what sort of searching, cajoling, screeching, dragging, shoving, clawing and biting catastrophe (heh) that can be. I have five players, soon to be six, and only three humans to deal with them. I wonder if they ought to phone a friend or relative for moral support at the vet's office when the crated kitties get loose. Or buy a tranq gun. Catnip works well enough on at least one of the members of the kitty crew, who was all too happy to ride in the crate once he had his precious catnip mousie. Just say no, kids.

So that's another creative direction I'm finding myself pulled in. It's only Tuesday but I've yet to sit my butt down for fiction writing, or article writing so far. But I'll keep plodding along, tossing bits of (I hope) interesting stuff for you folks to read. Stay tuned!

In Which I Try To Find A Topic

It's a late morning, my tea is now gone and I don't know what to write about. It appears I owe at least one blog post for this week, though, so here I am. I haven't quite completed (read: actually started on) my topics list for the blog, so I frequently find myself sitting here staring at the screen, the wall, out the window, or grabbing one of my writing books, like Lawrence Block's "Telling Lies For Fun & Profit" and flipping through it for five, ten, fifteen minutes, ending up no closer to a topic for today than when I'd started.

I suppose the lack of ability to find a decent topic is as good a topic as any, given that this is a writing blog. At the risk of writing something so achingly boring and unreadable as to drive my readers away, I will attempt to write about this topic.

I've written about the fear and frustration of facing the blank page. I've written about procrastination. I've written about Monkey Mind. I seem to have a mix of them today. I'm tired and I keep meandering off to look at my email or ponder my previous posts here or worry about having a backup copy of my blog. All instead of writing in here. And now it's getting on to lunchtime and I'm still feeling pretty empty of content.

All this stuff usually gets pushed aside once I get going, but I'm having trouble hitting that mark today. I keep thinking of things I'd rather be doing than sitting here typing out a so-called blog entry for today. A blog entry, says my eager Critic, that has no substance and is useless and dumb and why don't I just save the file as daily writing blah and give the blog a miss for today?

Well, Critic, whether or not this post is full of blah or awesome, I missed a post yesterday and I'll be making up Video Thursday tomorrow (presuming I can find something good to post for that!), and whether or not I've actually got readers who are reading this blog and wondering where my posts have gone, I feel like I need to post something. Could be this is the boringest post evar. Probably. But it's early days, as for the life of this blog, and I feel it safe enough to have an occasional 'whut?' post.

I've reached four hundred words, which is generally my minimum length for a blog post here. I don't want to spam people, but I want there to be enough that my readers feel like they've actually read something.

And hey, readers? Hate to beg for interaction, here, but I'd love to hear from you guys. Post a comment, vote in the little silly poll I stuck up, click a rating at the end of a post, email me directly if you like. I've had a couple emails from irregular readers and those who read mostly via RSS feed, but I'd like to know if I'm talking to myself here. Thanks.

Crossed the five hundred mark, so it must be time to meander off to something else. This week's been a bit of a bear; next week will be a better blogging week, I'm certain. Until next time.