That is a great question. No more cramming writing into an optimistically anticipated one hour that might be left over at the end of the day.
I can truly answer this question for you since I have had a couple cracks at a full year away from a "normal" job in order to write. I dove into this dream headfirst. However, the water was a bit shallower than I expected. I hit my head on the bottom of the dream when I realized that "time to write" meant time to do everything but write.
That's ok though. Since my work is flexible I have “all the time in the world” and I can write “anywhere at any time”. For instance, when my mom had her hip-replacement I could just bring my laptop with me to the hallway crowded, emergency bustling, machine beeping hospital. I could peck away at my keyboard a quarter sentence at a time as I perched myself on the 4 inch by 4 inch bed corner that I sprang from every fifteen minutes to let a nurse go by.
I have had many other places during my year(s) to write to lug my unopened laptop to as well. I was available for a very close friend through an agonizing time of losing her husband. I volunteered at a local soup kitchen and befriended the homeless and addicted. I visited an isolated arctic community and had my eyes opened to the third-world country that exists in our own country. I sat with my cousin through cancer treatments. My husband and I brought a lost teenager into our home and released our daughter back to university. I became more available for my husband in order for him to focus on his aspirations and hopped on the back of our Harley at times that my flexible schedule accommodated my husband’s less than flexible schedule. And, I had time to connect with amazing writers with similar struggles, aspirations and yearnings for inspiration.
By the end of my days that are set aside for writing I sneak away to my messy desk that is tucked away in an otherwise immaculate home that I have plenty of time to keep clean. The house is tidy, the yard is straightened, the dog is fed, the laundry is put away, the kids are grown. I take a look at the clock. Perfect! An hour of uninterrupted, laser focused, powerfully productive writing time. Just enough to write about all of the things that happened during the time that I had to write.
So, how would I write if I had a whole year to focus on it? Not much differently than if I didn’t, just a little different content that is all.
You can read Melanie’s related article “The reality in being a fulltime writer” in the Spicy section of June’s issue of her monthly Purpose Buffet at http://www.hungryforpurpose.com/purpose-buffet-june/
To sign up to receive the monthly Hungry for Purpose Buffet go to www.hungryforpurpose.com
I have had many other places during my year(s) to write to lug my unopened laptop to as well. I was available for a very close friend through an agonizing time of losing her husband. I volunteered at a local soup kitchen and befriended the homeless and addicted. I visited an isolated arctic community and had my eyes opened to the third-world country that exists in our own country. I sat with my cousin through cancer treatments. My husband and I brought a lost teenager into our home and released our daughter back to university. I became more available for my husband in order for him to focus on his aspirations and hopped on the back of our Harley at times that my flexible schedule accommodated my husband’s less than flexible schedule. And, I had time to connect with amazing writers with similar struggles, aspirations and yearnings for inspiration.
By the end of my days that are set aside for writing I sneak away to my messy desk that is tucked away in an otherwise immaculate home that I have plenty of time to keep clean. The house is tidy, the yard is straightened, the dog is fed, the laundry is put away, the kids are grown. I take a look at the clock. Perfect! An hour of uninterrupted, laser focused, powerfully productive writing time. Just enough to write about all of the things that happened during the time that I had to write.
So, how would I write if I had a whole year to focus on it? Not much differently than if I didn’t, just a little different content that is all.
You can read Melanie’s related article “The reality in being a fulltime writer” in the Spicy section of June’s issue of her monthly Purpose Buffet at http://www.hungryforpurpose.com/purpose-buffet-june/
To sign up to receive the monthly Hungry for Purpose Buffet go to www.hungryforpurpose.com
I chuckled all the way through, Mel. I'm pretty sure that would be me as well, if I had that blissful year to write.
ReplyDeleteI must say the question and answers this month have given me pause.
Does God's chaotic plan outweigh my pristine, organized plan? Perhaps I should just get on board with His plan and know it's right.
Great post, Mel.
Oh my! I just love your tongue in cheek humour throughout! This sounds exactly like what might happen to all of with with 'so much extra time'! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies! I am glad you could handle my sense of humor :)
ReplyDeleteAh, Mel, this is the one I couldn't read, but I think I have read and enjoyed your other "Buffet" renderings. And I still plan to get back to you on this.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds to me like you've used this "writing year" rather well for writing and for gaining experience that will also be "grist for the mill."
Right now I'm sitting at my cluttered desk, so I can relate to that part of your humour. You may have heard the quote from Albert, Einstein that is, who said, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"
The only way I can relate to riding on the back of a Harley with the hubby is to let my mind wander back to our farming years. Hank would come back to the house in the evening and say, "Leave whatever you're doing and let's go for a quad ride." Maybe the ride wasn't as smooth or as swift as on a Harley, but I can still feel the wind blowing in my hair. (Before helmets were a recommended necessity, of course.)
That was the June Buffet I missed.
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteI love how you allow God to guide your steps and how you step in to what God is doing in people's lives...and how your bring your writing along. Beautiful.
Ha ha, Mel. I read this a long time ago and then again today and laughed both times! It sounds to me like you have lots of content to write about after a year of writing "full-time!"
ReplyDeletePam