 |
| Star Trek and Buttercream Frosting |
I love writing.
The passion I used to reserve for Star Trek and buttercream frosting (combined??) I now lavish upon this obsession I have for the craft of writing.
It takes over my movie watching (five minutes into The Matrix last night, someone tells Neo, You’re one of those people who thinks you’re special, aren’t you? I turned to my mom and said, “See that? That’s Stating the Theme! It’s part of the setup!” She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.)
It takes over the dinner conversation (my boys are now experts on POV and genre rules and the evils of info dumps).
It invades my dreams (whenever I’m drafting, the creative engine in my brain won’t turn off at night, which makes for some terrifyingly bizarre night drama).
This sometimes makes me take on too much – I love reading, writing, critiquing, blogging. I want to do it all RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW!
I’m also a little impatient.
I have to force myself to slow down and not do a zillion things, even if they are fun. Even if they taste better than a Star Trek chocolate cake. Because life needs to happen, and I don’t want to miss out on this:
How do you manage the obsession?
SNAP!
You got me in a nutshell there too. 😀
That cake looks DIVINE!!!!
ohmygoodness! you're always talking about dark omen, and he always reminds me of my oldest- eli… but now, holy cow! they even look a bit alike! and i've been brainstorming poses for my sons' yearly group picture, and NOW!!! YAY!!! this is perfect!!!! YAY!
oh yeah, there was content here as well… hmmm… oh yeah!
ohman! i love to write so much too! i can't say that i know all the technique terminology or strategy, but i study story as well (unless it's really amazing, and then i'm just zoom! swept away! 🙂 )
Geez, my cakes never look like that. Not even close.
Great words of wisdom. 😀
@Dawn I think everyone struggles with this – if you don't, you're probably either: 1)not a writer or 2)more sane than I am.
@aspiring Ha! I love that Eli & Dark Omen look alike!
@Stina My cakes look like this when I buy them from someone else. 🙂
Mmmm. . .cake! Lovely post and how cute! Are those your kids? They are ADORABLE!
Obsession is the perfect word! Writing is something that takes over your life, if you let it. And that I do often. How to find balance? I haven't figured that out yet. But you're absolutely right, that the little people in our lives are numero uno!
hi miss susan! that cake looks soooo yummy. i like that pictur of your kids. for me theres nothing i could rather do than write stuff. now im loving doing critiquing too.mostly some life stuff gets in my way and i dont get so much writing done as i could want. but i do as much as i could. i go asleep thinking on a next chapter or what a characters gonna do next so that saves some time for me. i like having writing to be obsessed with cause i could spend lot and lots of time creatib neat stuff that no one else ever did.
…hugs from lenny
Manage? What?
@Lindsay Thank you – yes, the kids are kinda cute. I think I'll keep them. 🙂
@Ruth Balance is something I'm constantly striving for, but the little guys keep me honest.
@Lenny I love that you go asleep thinking about the next chapter – I just did that last night! And I'm glad you are sharing your creative stuff with the world!
@Bryan Ha. Hey, with babies in the house, you're doing good just to keep things from catching fire.
You sure hit the nail on the head with the word "obsession." When I can't turn my mind off at night, sometimes I'll just give it an assignment, like finding a unique name for a new character, or the next scene or setting or how the MC would feel. I sleep on it, and sometimes will be brainstorming throughout the night in my dreams. I love it when that happens and I can brainstorm through the night. And some good stuff has come from it!
I think I must have been half asleep when I left that last comment because I repeated myself. Sheesh! Sleep blogging?
Ah, you speak straight to my heart. It's become an obsession for me, too (I LOVE analyzing books and movies now!!! – but darn it, just watched the Matrix a couple weeks ago – I MISSED when he stated the theme!) and I'm struggling to find balance, too. Even when I'm not actively engaged in writing, blogging, analyzing reading, etc. sometimes my mind is still there and I'm only giving that "family time" half my focus.
@Lynn That's when I get the crazy dreams, never anything useful like a new character name. 🙂
@Margo That sounds like an excuse to watch the Matrix AGAIN! 🙂 That half-focus is so hard to fight.
Licks lips and yums over that cake. But where would we be without writing? The beach? The Riveria? Alcapulco? Ptweey! Give me my keyboard and half an idea any day.
Lovely boys, in spite of their mischievous names. 🙂
@Clee I'm with you…on the beach with my laptop! 🙂 And the boys live up to their names. 🙂
omg–LOL!!! Susan, you're so funny. But it's true! I do the same thing. I'm impossible watching movies now. sigh.
oh, well. It could be worse, I guess. And that's a fantastic cake, btw~
It's so hard!!!! Because I DO feel like I'm missing out w/my kids. 🙁 But there's no doubt, it is an obsession, and I can't seem to stop myself…
@LTM I try really hard not to speak during the movies, because I'm just awful! 🙂 But sometimes I can't stop myself.
@LisaGG I think there's no helping that "missing out" feeling – the only antidote is an occasional day (hour, minute) where you just totally focus on them. It works for me, at least. 🙂
Your boys are beautiful!!!
And …
We are SOUL SISTERS. I could have written this post. In fact, I probably have. We're like >this<
So of course, GREAT POST SUSAN!
@Ali Thanks! *grins* I'm soul sister with a Ninja. #awesome
I don't know what you mean by manage 🙂 I think about my characters every minute of every day. When drafting, I write every minute of every day (okay, that's an exaggeration, but I write on the train, in the stairwells at work, late at night, early in the morning…). Then the editing starts. And oh yea, the blogging. And the research. And what happened to real life? Family and friends and work and free lance jobs and…
I hang on by a thread [g] but I'm not complaining! The only thing I feel bad about is that I have no time to play – I have to focus on one MS at a time instead of fooling around here and there with a couple of short stories and poems on the side.
@Deniz Yup. You gots it bad. 🙂 I know exactly what you mean.
You're a Trekkie? Sweet! I do love me some Star Trek. 🙂 And it is so hard to say no to things that taste better than chocolate Star Trek cake. I've had to cut back lately because I had too many obsessions going.
@Leisha I'm glad you're finding a way to manage the obsessions rather than have the obsessions manage you – life is better that way! 🙂
It took me so long to give myself permission to embrace my writer self, that I now revel in the million pieces of that world. Dedication to my writing has made me a better teacher as I continue to learn. Blogging to me is an open classroom where I can constantly find info. to grow as a writer. I love that it is always there waiting. Of course the writing itself is my fuel and my joy. Will there be a giveaway for that fabulous cake?
@Leslie I'm so glad you have owned the "writer" title! It's an important step. And I wish I owned the cake, but alas, it is not mine. 🙂