Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Not Writing Every Minute

I've very excited for this Saturday when a ton of authors will be participating in the York Book Expo. It's the first year for the expo so we're hoping it does really well and can become an annual event. Oh, and I hope I sell enough books to pay for my table. If you're anywhere near York, PA, stop in and see us.

Though this blog is usually something about writing, I really don't spend every waking moment writing or thinking about writing. Lots of other things are going on around this house.

I've mentioned this before. It's a big house. Finished basement, six bedrooms on the third floor and four big rooms on the first level. One of those rooms is my perfect office. But it's a lot of square footage to keep clean. Then we have an acre and a half of property outside that I do 100% of the work taking care of it. Keeps me busy.

My husband is a painter as in home and commercial painting. He has a pretty good reputation for perfection. Recently, he has had so much work backing up that he has had to call in reinforcements. You guessed it. I'm not as skilled as he is but I'm very patient. This week, I've already spent 17 hours removing wallpaper. Ask a house painter what he hates and he'll say wallpaper. Removing it is my specialty but this job is challenging even my vaulted even keel.

I read every day, even if only for 30 minutes. Not only do I enjoy it, but as a writer, I think it's part of my job.

Unless I'm helping my husband with his work, I walk/job at least 60 minutes every day. Not looking forward to the cold weather.

I only watch a little TV in the evenings. Once Upon a Time on Sundays, Scorpion on Monday, Sleepy Hollow on Thursday and I have to add Fargo to the list. Friday nights in the fall, I go watch my son coaching high school football. Anything else I watch is usually on-demand days after it airs and I do that in the morning when I'm doing social media stuff.

Being a full time writer and working from home, even with my own office space, it is so easy to be distracted by all those other things. Add laundry, shopping and cooking, and it's very easy to put in a full day without ever sitting down at the keyboard. I usually write later at night and weekends, a habit holdover from my teaching days. But for the next 48 days, my local writer's group is having a 50/50 competition. It started Monday and each participant writes at least 50 words per day for 50 days. That's not that many words and most people once they start write many times more than 50. And everyone is so encouraging as we post our daily totals on our forum. Which is exactly the point. And getting that habit of writing every day is highly recommended for people who want to make a career of it. But not every minute.

"True friendship is a plant of slow growth."  George Washington

Don't forget you have until November 1st to get your short story in for the IWSG's very first short story anthology.

Do you think about your writing even when you're not actually sitting at the keyboard? Do household chores take away a lot of your writing time? Every participate in something like our 50/50? I know NaNo is coming up soon.





25 comments:

Elise Fallson said...

I've never done 50/50, but it sounds like a fun challenge and great for getting into the habit of writing everyday. I did NaNo last year, crashed and burned right after so, I'm not sure if I'll do it again this year. Hope your book expo is a success! :)

Julie Flanders said...

50/50 sounds like a great challenge. I've enjoyed NaNo in the past but I'm going to pass on it this year and work on editing instead.
I watched the new Fargo last night and loved it, will definitely be watching more.

Tyrean Martinson said...

50/50 sounds like a perfect challenge. I love it! I know how you feel with busy days. Yesterday, I barely squeezed in 300 words because I spent most of the day answering e-mails from students with questions - the downfall of teaching classes only on Mondays for a home-school co-op and then assigning a week's worth of homework. I thought I explained things well . . . but, maybe not. Then, there's the errand running, one kid that doesn't drive and needs rides, plus I volunteer once a week for a few hours on Tuesdays . . . and the day is nearly over without getting the house clean and hardly any writing done. So, I know how you feel and sometimes 50 words is plenty. :)

The Happy Whisk said...

LOVED this post. Yes, I know for sure you are WAY more than words on a page and boy, is it nice to read this. Love that you help Hubby when he needs it. I am soon to remove wallpaper here. But it's on a trailer wall. Have any suggestions on an easier way to go about it? I heard there was something I could spray on it, and the wallpaper will come right off? Don't know if that's?

Have a great time on Saturday.

Maria Zannini said...

I hate removing wallpaper. It takes a lot of patience because the secret to a good paint job is the prep work.

I'm glad you blog about more than writing. It's nice to know about the person rather than just his job/hobby.

Shanaya Tales said...

You know Susan, when I decided to blog, I had never thought much about it. I just wanted to share my love of books, and be able to discuss it with someone with similar interests, as I am surrounded by non-readers in my real life (well this is real too, but you know what I mean).

However, what started with book reviews, grew to personal writing as well, and now I think about writing for a large part of my non-writing time. This is strange and totally unexpected. I don't really know where this will lead me.

Would have loved to visit the expo, but just last month, we moved to D.C. from Philly. Any exp around D.C. I will be sure to visit. :)

Shanaya Tales said...

expo*

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Have fun and good luck at the Book Expo!

I think about writing when I'm away from the keyboard. I've got scrap paper and pens all over the house for jotting ideas and snippets of dialogue and plot twists etc. But, if I'm not careful, chores will distract then overwhelm - priorities, please! :)

Crystal Collier said...

Does any writer write full time? I mean, seriously, that would be a miracle. And you'd have to be making crazy money to validate it. And figure out how to stay in shape while sitting all day.

Pat Hatt said...

50 words sounds like a great way to keep focused. Wow, that is a lot of rooms haha

nashvillecats2 said...

Sounds like fun Susan, enjoy every minute,
Yvonne.

J E Oneil said...

That is a big house. It sounds nice, though. I hope you have fun at the expo. I wish I could go!

The Happy Whisk said...

From what I read, Dean Koontz puts in a solid eight hour day.

M.J. Fifield said...

The 50/50 challenge sounds like a lot of fun. I should get my writers group to try it.

Our last house had a lot of wallpaper. Painters aren't the only ones who hate it...perspective buyers do too. :)

Enjoy the Expo!

Ann Bennett said...

50/50 sounds like a sane challenge.
I let myself get behind at home about five years ago and I am almost caught up. It never ends.

Jo said...

Hope the book expo goes well. Sounds like a good idea. I have never had to remove wallpaper. I don't think I would be any good at it. No patience whatsoever for things like that.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - enjoy the York Book Expo - sounds like fun and being around other authors will inspire you. I can imagine you'd be working on part of the manuscript as you strip wallpaper. The house sounds wonderful .. and I'm so glad the new office space will be 'perfect' for you. 50/50 sounds good ... have a great weekend - cheers Hilary

mshatch said...

I used to paint houses back in the day and I actually liked removing wallpaper. What can I say. I 'm weird :)

Christine Rains said...

Have fun at the book expo! I think about writing all the time. I use chores to give me a break from it and they help me think too.

Chrys Fey said...

I don't spend every minute writing or thinking about writing either. There's too many other things that pop up that need attention.

I like the sound of a 50/50 competition.

Have fun at the book expo! :)

Chrys Fey said...

I don't spend every minute writing or thinking about writing either. There's too many other things that pop up that need attention.

I like the sound of a 50/50 competition.

Have fun at the book expo! :)

Robin said...

You have so much going on!

I hope that you get excellent results at the book expo!

I had no idea your home was so large. All that cleaning and upkeep! Ugghhh. That is a full-time job all by itself!

Funny thing about removing wallpaper. Back in 1980 (I was 12) my parents bought an old house that had hideous wallpaper all over the entire house. That summer my mom worked at redecorating 24/7. A big part of the work was scraping off the old wallpaper. My younger brother and I were frequently enlisted to help due to the sheer volume of it. Armed with a water bottle and scraper we'd work until she couldn't stand the complaining. ha! That experience served me well when I bought my first home, because there was a very large (and difficult) wallpaper removal job. It took me several weeks when I anticipated only a few days. So, I feel your pain on this one.

I think I need to find a writing group to help me stay committed to my writing. I do it in spurts, but I think I would be more effective writing less daily.

Stephanie Faris said...

Yay. Fingers crossed that you sell lots of books. Some of my fellow authors have been trying out selling books at craft fairs and such. They said people get confused at those things--they think you're a bookstore and walk up and ask if you have a certain book! Even if you have a banner that says, "MEET THE AUTHOR" they just don't get it.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I like the idea of 50/50. That's easily achievable. But I agree it's hard to sit at the keyboard each day and get writing done. Between a new day job, two volunteer jobs, the kids, housewifery, etc., my writing keeps falling by the wayside.

Unknown said...

I feel like a slacker compared to you. LOL. The yard work alone makes me groan but I envy you having your own writing office dedicated space. I'm working toward that at some point. Maybe. LOL. I'm amazed at all you accomplish