Writing fun

Here's how writing and exercise are alike: I love how they feel when I do them, but procrastinate like the devil before I get to it. What is that about?

During the month of November, I wrote nearly every day. I had the challenge of doing NaNoWriMo and wanted to succeed at writing 50,000 words on a new novel during the 30 days of November. I did it, as I have done for several years now. The unfinished novels are beginning to pile up, but they've also been the seed for publishing the books I have now on Amazon.

This past November I returned to my favorite genre, historical lesbian fiction.  It weds my favorite subjects and gives me the chance to stretch by doing research and NOT falling into the trap of formulaic writing. (At least I hope I don't fall down that hole!) So I was a happy little clam getting ready to write and having the story take shape day by day. I only missed one or two days of writing in November. When I reached the 50,000 mark, the book wasn't finished, but it was maybe 2/3 done. And I haven't looked at it since.

When I'm under the time crunch of Nano, I am just piling up words, not looking for deathless prose. The point is to put so many words into it that I won't just abandon the effort later. There are predictable stages, including the 30,000 word slump when the whole thing seems not just impossible but a stupid idea in the first place. By then, I'm usually floundering around with too many characters running off in all directions, too many storylines to keep track of, and no clear idea how to bring it all together. And really, that's the way it stays all the way till 50,000. What keeps me going is the word-o-meter.

So this week, I pull up the file for the first time since Nov. 30, convinced that I'm going to be reading a pile of jumbled up trash that may not even be salvageable. And what do I find? It's a story I want to read. I can't remember what all I've written, since I've never read it over. It's like a new book, and it keeps pulling me forward. The story is better than I thought it would be, the characters are developing well, and there are some really good individual sentences ----- I love a good sentence!

It's not perfect, of course. It's a first draft of a Nano book. I'm excising, rearranging, editing, expanding. But that's fun, too. What is so exciting for me is that, contrary to what I've been telling myself for the last 6 weeks, I actually DO have a viable book here. I'll be able to finish it and send it on it's way to join its sisters in the wider world. I'll watch it bob around in that big sea of books and know from experience that it's going to wash up on shores farther away than I'll ever see.

And then I'll go back and finish Nano 2010, a baby I've been shaping and polishing for a year and a half and still haven't found the ending.

Why in the world would I procrastinate about doing something that is this much fun?

Silly Writer.

Retirement changes things

Suddenly I have time to do the things I've only thought about, or tried to fit into the corners of an over-full working life. 

I married a woman ten years my junior, though neither of us could be called a spring chicken.  Hot flashes.  When two people are having hot flashes at the same time, life gets interesting, especially when it comes to the thermostat, open windows and covers on the bed.  Mine were from age.  Hers were from breast cancer.  It all amounts to the same thing --- where'd the estrogen go?

Now I'm home in the daytime while she's still working.  Somebody, after all, has to bring home the bacon.  It's brand new, this retirement gig.  It won't last since my pension is really low, so I'll have to find some way to make money.  But for a couple of months, this is what I'm doing.  I'm staying home to write, to recover from the most stressful situation I've ever experienced, and to raise the puppy.

The changes are enormous already.  I'm learning to relax.  I can make decisions about how to spend my time.  Without the never-ending pressure of school work and unfinished tasks, I am able to sleep again, to read for pleasure, to follow my curiosity, even to "waste" time if I want to.  And I want to.