{"id":228,"date":"2017-06-26T20:29:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T00:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=228"},"modified":"2017-06-26T20:29:39","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T00:29:39","slug":"time-is-a-four-letter-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/06\/26\/time-is-a-four-letter-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Time is a Four-Letter Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

That was the point of my previous post. This time, I want to add a caveat.<\/p>\n

You need to make time for yourself.<\/p>\n

Let me say that again. You NEED<\/strong> to MAKE TIME<\/strong> for yourSELF<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I read recently (in The Kill Zone Blog<\/a>, James Scott Bell), that writers need down time in order to be creative. Makes perfect sense, right? Of course it does. I would have argued for this point even as I denied it to myself, running hard-as-I-could toward the next self-imposed deadline. I guess I\u2019m the obsessive type. But reading Bell\u2019s comments on the benefits of relaxation rang a bell (no pun intended) for me. I\u2019ve thought about it over and over since. It totally explains why some nights I just can\u2019t write. No matter how hard I try, it just isn\u2019t there. If I force the issue, I always end up rewriting what I just<\/em> labored over for hours.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve learned to listen to that whisper \u2013 or shout, as the case may be \u2013 and walk away from the keyboard when it comes. Even so, I feel guilty. As if I\u2019m shirking.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not. I\u2019m not. I\u2019m really not. (Talking as much to myself as I am to you.) So I\u2019m learning to use my \u201coff-time\u201d wisely, in ways that stimulate the creative juices under the surface, so that they feed and\/or inform my work.<\/p>\n

Let me clarify that I\u2019m not talking here about directed \u201cunfocused\u201d time inserted into your normal writing routine, where you take 10-15 minutes away from the keyboard to refocus (also a very good idea and highly recommended by the voices of experience). I\u2019m talking about deliberate mini-vacations from your writing time to recharge your own batteries.<\/p>\n

Doing what, you ask? Lots of things come to mind, but I do have a few favorites.<\/p>\n

I used to be an avid reader. Once I decided to write, I thought I had no more time to read. All that \u201cspare\u201d time needed to be focused on putting out my own books or stories. Hah! Experienced voices in the writing world laughed me down, figuratively or literally, and I eventually listened. Now I am always reading something. Stephen King says he never goes anywhere without a book. I\u2019ve taken his advice. Armed with a Kindle and a library card, I always have something to read. It\u2019s handy on the treadmill, or in a waiting room, or during my lunch hour, or in bed before falling asleep. Sometimes, I read just because I want to goof off. It helps to unplug from my own work-in-progress.<\/p>\n

But reading isn\u2019t the only thing I do to disconnect from the drive to write. I love to sit in the evenings with Hubby and just watch mindless television or, on occasion, a great movie. I go to the gym three times each week, where I spend equal amounts of time sweating and socializing with friends. I love to go for long walks with my friend William. We talk about politics (blech!), our daily lives, our respective projects, philosophy. I have to say, though, that Nature soothes me best. Hubby and I have an annual family membership at the local botanical gardens, and I use it liberally. An hour of walking through the beauty there is true balm for my spirit. And I\u2019ve reconnected with my personal journey to the Divine.<\/p>\n

How do these activities contribute to my writing?<\/p>\n

If you already utilize this practice, you\u2019ll know the answer. If you don\u2019t, I suggest a challenge to you. Read Bell\u2019s blog post (linked above), then find your own method of \u201cloafing\u201d and try it for a month. Afterward, write to me here and tell me how it affected your work.<\/p>\n

Also, look for my posts to start veering into some of these other topics. So many things from our daily lives inform and guide our writing, don\u2019t you think? I plan to start including those other things here, where I hope we can explore them together.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all for now. I hear the siren song of my current book (Fingerprints of God<\/em>, by Barbara Bradley Hagerty\u2014review coming soon). I think I\u2019ll kick back and read a while.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"