The woman who wrote all those Harry Potter Novels was amazing! The last week or so I’ve been more or less a single mother at home and finding it hard enough to write a thousand words a day while just keeping up with the basics of taking care of a two year old and a house…and this is me so we’re talking minimum tidy. I’ve realized that part of my problem is that I just can’t block out the sounds of the external world, and maybe, the world I live in is a fine enough place (though really noisy) that it’s hard to find the motivation to escape into another story and write it down at the same time. I have a rough idea of how the story will go but have left space for the characters to move. I can imagine a million possibilities of ‘what happens next’.
Anne Lamott (one of my favorite writers) is right when she talks about how hard it is to turn off the radio station in our minds which has only one channel where the DJ does nothing but remind us of our shortcomings and of all of the things we have to do besides write. Now I can add to his list…feel guilty about not writing. I hear my own voice pleading with him…”but the bathroom is clean! the baby’s pajamas are washed and her winter boots are scotchguarded!”…He looks at me with a stern expression, discontent that I’ve left Maddie at the bathroom mirror, knowing what will happen next but too ‘lazy’ to type it out.
He may be right. But it feels good to look at my clean kitchen counter, my fluffy bath rug and the softened butter on the counter waiting to be mixed into cookies. If my six faithfull readers are wondering, Maddie makes it to the resturant a half hour late, she looks fabulous, Kirk is stunned, we find out that he’s a red-head and looks good in olive green. They’re about to have a wonderful dinner which will be ruined by a big fight…what will they do about the Queen Bed back at the hotel…mmm, I’m not sure yet but I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by to read and thanks for letting me take a break. I’d give you a plate of cookies if I could.
All my best,
Chastity Blaze
