Forever.
Up at the cabin: wake up at 5:30 when hubby goes fishing; turn over and go back to sleep; wake up at 7, let the dog out, go out to the livingroom, open doors and windows and let cool air whip through the house, fall back asleep on the sofa till 9; take shower; read; grab a donut; go to library and do research for an hour; come back, have lunch; take a nap; write; go for a walk to lake; eat dinner; write; watch movies; sleep. Repeat. And Repeat.
Then the discombobulation starts. Go to bed. Try to sleep. Since I napped off and on all day, writing plots and ideas now come to the forefront. Get up. Write blog. Write Foreward to new book. Go to sleep at 1 a.m., something I’m trying desperately to change back home.
I came up to escape — to get away, to rest, to write. I’m under constant pressure back in homeyland to learn more, move faster, drive more carefully, clean more thoroughly — all that wonderful stuff that all of us do. So when we travel four hours to my father-in-law-now-my-son-and-our cabin, I do my best to unwind. To unplug.
Somehow, though, unplugging turns into disconnect in a heartbeat.
In my defense I could say my body sees an opportunity to catch up on its sleep/rest, and will be damned if anything gets in the way. That’s why half the time I’m pleasantly lethargic up here. The boys always go fishing; good for them. I hit the second hand stores; good for me. But all my plans for writing often get sidetracked by reading (I’m on the 4th Game of Thrones book now), baking, napping, and listening to the windchimes on the front deck.
Is this the world of the writer? Those who pound out best seller after best seller? Good, hard work followed by a nap in the breeze? If so, I’m pretty much a lackey in that department, too. Cool summer/autumn breezes and birds singing and no traffic and a lake in the distance aren’t always the inspiration for a murder mystery or a science fiction invasion.
I feel like a loser. 16 good hours of writing in 2 days boiled down to 2 hours of research, one hour of writing, one hour working on a friend’s website, and 12 hours of screwing around. The peace and quiet is so overwhelming it overtakes my good intentions.
I think it’s more I’m not as diciplined as I used to be. At home I squeeze writing inbetween playing with my grandson, watching TV, doing laundry and dishes, and yelling at the dogs. And it seems like I get more done.
I’ve screwed off enough for two days. I will go up and delete the word “forever” and replace it with “after retirement.” Until then I need to keep the mind sharp, the words flowing, and the blog pics amazing.
I’ll do that right after my nap.
I hear you, gf — that best seller list still hangs in the sky like a cold, pale moon. But then again, man HAS landed on it…why can’t we?
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yes …’real’ life – go with the flow, I reckon…. don’t force it and don’t get annoyed by it either ….when that best seller idea comes it’ll arrive like an avalanche and then there will be no stopping!! 🙂
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You are awesome and so is your advice! I know I can do almost all of it one piece at a time…with a nap and a windchime now and then…
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We all deserve a little extra rest. If you practice this schedule more, you sould not have a problem sleeping at night. At least that has been my experience. Napping preps me for sleeping.
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yes ! listen to your body ! you are the only one that can do that !!!
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I know you are right … and I have taken your advice. One thing I am finally getting after all these years — listen to your body!
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just go with the flow and enjoy what you are doing and everything will fall into place; it is as simple as that 😀 have a great week !
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Thank you. I think it comes from that wanting to enjoy life, period, and trying to enjoy everything that comes our way. All at one time.
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Thank you! I get soooo frustrated when my planned writing time goes arwy — and that’s more and more lately. Short things I can handle. Novels? I am apprehensive at this point.
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Thank you for your encouragement, maheshdan! We do need a combination of observation and participation.
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Smiling. Loved this post. I totally understand.
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Hey we all deserve a holiday and I don’t just mean different scenery! I think every single one of us would relate to this post!
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Claudia Anderson, good outdoor time with friend or family makes more joyful. A writer mostly like to stay alone to think different but one can learnt lots from observation of things during outing. Nicee post and cheer the life
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