Authorly Admissions

The past month has been a whirlwind of writing and deadlines and interviews and back-to-school madness.  The good news is that I have been cranking out articles and getting paid to write.  The bad news is that I am not getting to spend nearly enough time working on the book.  I am still trying to find that ever-elusive "balance" that I hear so much about.  I am beginning to doubt its existence.  I believe that it is more likely that we teeter back and forth, vacillating between neglect and obsession, for all eternity.

Okay, perhaps that is a bit melodramatic, but I am feeling a touch dramatic at the moment.  Geez, this would be a good time to be working on the book...channel the drama into something productive.

I am taking some time off from my day job later this week, and I am hopeful that I will get some work done on the novel.  If you catch me online, feel free to scold me and send me back to work.

Here are some things I have learned this past month:

1. You cannot please everyone all the time...especially not yourself.
2. When you have no time to write, the ideas will come fast and furious.
3. At some point, every writer will write something simply for the money.  Kids have to be fed and bills need to get paid.  There is no shame in this, but don't let the money make you forget the things you actually want to write.
4. Sometimes you will have to burn the midnight oil...but when you realize that you are the one getting burned out it is time to turn off the lights and go on to bed.
5. When all else fails, turn off the computer and go outside, then take off your shoes, walk barefoot in the grass, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. 
6. And this quote, that I stumbled upon and which rang so true that it nearly brought tears to my eyes (which, to honest, isn't some great feat...I have been known to cry at certain Simpson's episodes, a particular poignant LifeSaver commercial, and a fair number of Doctor Who episodes).  At any rate, for what it is worth:

I have had to take a few walks this week, and more than a few deep breaths.  But I am still here.  Still writing.  Still holding out hope that this story that haunts me will find its way to people that will embrace it, and dog ear the pages, and copy out a line or two that means something to them.