I love writing, even on the bad days. The things that keep
me from writing are what make me truly crazy! A friend calls them Life Rolls.
LRs come in all sizes, big and small, trivial and overwhelming. This spring has
had its full share and variety of same.
Some LRs are pretty easy, just distracting. I just finished
reading all of Jane Austen’s books at the same time my wife plugged the last
hole in our Jane Austen movie collection. We now have every version of every
one. We’re dying to curl up on the couch together and have a filmfest that
lasts near enough a month of evenings.
Okay, so life gets busy and those get sidelined, for now. After
all, I do have a novel deadline and a dream of writing for a living. The only
way that happens is spending time in the chair practicing my story-telling craft.
Other LRs are a little more challenging. A huge project hit
my desk in March. High profile, high hours, short timeline. There’s a reason
these are given to me, I’m good at them and enjoy them. I shrug, my novel
deadline can afford to lose a month. I write a little, but this is a pretty
substantial LR.
The tricky bit about LRs is you can’t predict them. I did so
well on that project that they promoted me to take over a department in
trouble, in deep trouble. Let’s just say that since April we’ve taken off
Mother’s Day. We’re starting to climb out now, but we’re a pivotal operation in
the corporate operation and we’ve had to really pull together. The new team has
been awesome, but the hours and the work have been mind-bending. Suddenly my
novel deadline isn’t so comfortably far off. So, I get up an hour earlier than
my normally early alarm clock to get in some writing.
I think that it’s how I address the rolls that life is
always spinning out that defines me. My wife and I live about 15 minutes from
one of the nation’s international test rose gardens. We wandered the rows of
roses that don’t even have a name yet, they’re just test numbers being grown to
see if they grow uniquely and true to their form. I watch all of these bushes
leafing forth to welcome in the sun, hinting at buds in a thousand shades, and
I’m filled with hope, not caring that they are yet nameless.
That’s how I try to step forward. I don’t understand people
who let life roll them over. A life roll is merely life. Another chance to
standup, brush myself off and see how I can possibly bloom more than before.
That’s
how I want to have my characters step forward. Head high. Eyes forward.
Happy May!
ML Buchman
I definitely understand the LRs and the waking up early. It's pretty much a given that the week I really need to get a lot of work done the babysitter doesn't show, my daughter gets sick, and the house springs a plumbing leak. But you make it work, right?
ReplyDeleteWhat better way to shake off the stress of a life roll than to walk through a rose garden. I'd say you are blessed.
ReplyDeleteAmelia
Shana, Exactly, you make it work. By keeping an eye on what's important and keeping your head up to let the rest of it slide by as well as you can.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, if you're ever in the Rose City (Portland, OR), the international test rose garden is an absolute must, and, if you like living dangerously, right along with Powell's books. :)