Monday, May 5, 2014

When Life Gets in the Way

What happened to April?

I swear an hour ago it was April 1 and I was making a list of all the things I had to do before the end of the month:
     do the taxes
     get the Hub's trucking business invoices out and get the March books on the computer
     Schedule time for a major yard clean up
     turn the clocks ahead - all of them this time
     change the sheets
     recharge the Clarisonic and the toothbrushes
     refill the prescriptions
     car is due for inspection
     make a list of people needing greeting cards sent to them in April and try not to forget to mail them
     YIKES - Easter is in April - the family brouhaha approaches
     schedule a hair appointmen - gray is showing
     Lose weight - in other words, begin your 4th diet this year

And don;t forget the usual  - job (two night meetings a month normally, but this month I have 4 becasue we have to adopt a budget for 2014), laundry - wash the clothes, dry the clothes, fold the cloths. (note - there is no iron the clothes.  If it wrinkles, it does not live here), food shopping (Question - why is the food market with the best organic produce so far away?  Answer - Becasue it is.  Quit whining and drive), load the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, clean, cook, reserve Sunday night for Game of Thrones

And the unexpected.  Sis said the Newsboys are in town for a concert.  Let's see now - hear Michael Tait and company sing and lift my spirits or clean the dead leaves out of the mulch?  No contest.  Michael, here I come.  And I do hope he does hit the Restart so I can get back on track..      

So what am I forgetting?  I know there's something - Oh yeah -  make time to write.

For me, that last entry is getting harder and harder ro do, the older I get.  When I was  a child, a year lasted forever.  Now it's over in a blink.  By the time I get home from work and do what needs to be done before I can relax, it's 9PM.  I rationalize away the writing by asking myself something like "Who can be creative when she is this tired?" But I know the answer.  We all know the answer.  The successful multi-published, award winning, NY Tiemes best selling authors can be creative anytime day or night.  It is the only answer that makes sense and brings success.

There is one of those authors inside each one of us.  I know that becasue it can feel her trying to claw her way through the guilt when I realize that a month has gone by and I haven't made a dent in my WIP.

I met Janet Evanoxich at a writers conference many years back and we talked about just this sort of thing.  Her advice was to write at least 3 pages a day.  3 pages a day is about 100 pages (give or take) a month.  In three months you have a book.  Brilliant!!!  If one would only listen, that is.

So it's now May (give or take).  I will write 3 pages a day and in 3 months I will have the book that the editor from Berkely wants to see thanks to the New Jersey Fiction Writers Conference in March.    That will be July.  One month to self edit - August.  Then a contract by the end of the year (give or take).

3 pags a day.  I can do that.
     

Oh and I did go to the Newsboys concert.  Here's proof.

11 comments:

  1. Good luck with those three pages a day, Kathye - and with all the stuff that gets in the way too. Some of it's pretty important.

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    1. Thanks. I think that is a realistic goal for me.

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  2. Apologies to all. I could not get back into this post to correct the typos so I posted anyway to keep on schedule. But then again, I am the Typo Queen of the Universe, so it's kinda my signature.

    Happy writing all!
    Or in Typonese - Hrpphy Wriyning eill! (Maybe that;s Klingon. They are very similar)

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    1. Sorry,Kathye, you're going to have to share that Type Queen title with me.

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  3. Mr. Einstein was correct. The faster you go, the more time slows down and the younger you stay, but he didn't mention that the reverse is also true: the older you get, the slower you go and the more time speeds up. I get up on Monday and it's Friday already.

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    1. True that!!!! I have to make writing time. I have not been that disciplined as yet.

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  4. Oh my goodness, now I know I'm not the only completely overwhelmed author. I could SO relate to this post, Kathye. April flew. I thought I would have my book finished by May 1 - I don't. The due date is June 1. Yikes!

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  5. Kathye,
    congratulations on the request. I can so relate to your loss of time. I planned to have a wip ready by the end of March...oops! It's May...keep trying for 3 pages a day!

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  6. Kathye -- You can do it. I'm shooting for 3,500 words a week so I can make my August 4 deadline. Unlike you, I don't do any of those things that "need to be done" when I get home from my day job until I've written. So, in other words, I don't do them -- at least not until the weekend when I can enlist the dh and son to help.

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  7. Jean - you ar my hero(ine) I think I need to hire your DH and son!

    3500 words a week is a nice goal I may borrow it

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  8. Kathye--
    I know what you mean about the time slipping away so fast. I can't believe it's May either. Three pages a day is fantastic advice and totally doable. Also, how awesome that you got a pic with Newsboys! We need to fill the creative well often, and going to a great concert qualifies :-)
    Victoria--

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