Keep reading–it’s not all about cats.

I am writing under extreme duress; surrounded by cats who want to eat my lunch.  Their bowl sits untouched, with some of the yummiest cat food on the market (I’m guessing–I really don’t know for a fact), but me and my food pose a much more attractive prospect…a challenge.  Cally is all up in my grill(e?), as close as he dares, and my, he sure does dare closely.  P.J. inches ever closer on my other side thinking that since she’s the favorite I will just give up my lunch to her fluffy softness.  She is wrong.  If I could find my spray bottle they both would get it in the side.  There is no favoritism when it comes to my food.  They really should know this by now…  I’m thinking there must be a little button in their cute little “brains” that gets pushed whenever they smell something appetizing that prevents them from ever learning their lesson.

Whew!  K, food and cats gone.  This is much better.

Cats, unlike myself, don’t ever worry about their master plan.  After decades of observation, I know this is true.  They just do it.  Huh, maybe they would make a good subject for a Nike commercial?  I can just see it now, four leather covered paws, four teeny tiny swooshes jumping, darting, trotting.  Cute! K, K, back to the subject.  Sure, there isn’t much intentional planning happening with a cat.  But I bet they know they are going to eat and they aren’t going to let all that much come between them and a full tummy (spray bottle excluded).  They aren’t too worried about the details or if they are making the right decision or if they should take another path completely.

What I’m beating around is the fact that I have lots o’ projects on the stove but the burners are only on Low.  Or, the non-metaphor way to put it is that I’ve got so much I want to do that I’m doing almost none of it.  I’m in the paralyzed state that happens when I get overwhelmed.  It’s been a full week since I’ve written a word on my short story (which was supposed to be quick and painless, ha!).  I’ve written a small portion of an outline for the idea that I had in the shower.  And I’ve blogged.  So this is what it feels like to multi-task…I don’t like it.  So I’m writing about this because in talking to others this seems to be an issue as well.  And I’m thinking that if I write it out I can come up with a coherent resolution since that’s worked for me in the past.

The verdict – be like a Nike cat and just do it!  No more straying (ha ha get it?).  I think I can handle a blog post every one to two days while I finish that danged short story (which I love, don’t get me wrong).  After which I will work on the outline some more.  There.  Easy peasy.

Night to Day

When the kids draw with crayons or markers or when they paint I advise them to “fill the whole page with color”.  For one child this is to prevent 15 pages of paper with a single line of scribble done in under five minutes.  For another it’s to bring the very best out of him.  When you write do you know what brings the very best out of you, or are you just writing to prevent scribble?  How do you determine which is which?

My immediate response is experimentation.  Maybe seat-of-the-pants writing is what comes easiest to me, just as a scribbled line is easiest for a child.  Maybe this outline thing deserves a chance.  Who knows?  Maybe what comes from it is something greater than what I think I can do.  The trade off is time, of course, something which is in short supply as a wife and mother.  And then the joy of writing unencumbered is put off for a time.  (I’ve determined that I’m not at all a good multi-tasker.)

If you are also facing these questions, below is a link that may help you determine what to do next.  It is an excerpt from a blog titled “The Writer’s Roundabout” which is written by Rebecca Laffar-Smith.  It is part two in a series about seat of the pants writing vs. planning and discusses the pros and cons of each.

Okay, it’s late.  Here goes anyway:

1.  @benwhiting twitters all kinds of useful writerly information.  all day.  Oh! and he’s a fellow Fort Worthian.

2.  Hubby is officially on vacation!!! YAY!

3.  3 weeks down, 5 to go…

4.  Got stuck on this mom’s blog today.  She is hilarious!

Mr. Threepwood

5.  Guybrush Threepwood is the best character name ever.

6.  I’ve written approximately two sentences on my current project this week.  That is not a good thing.  ugh.

7.  Found another cool site just today.  Rachelle Gardner is a lit. agent.  Her site was listed on the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers.  I’ve not even scratched the surface yet.

8.  Urgh, cannot find my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird!  I have looked everywhere…it’s driving me batty.

9.  I have had approximately eight cats in my lifetime.  Only one has ever come when she is/was called.  She is the best kitty ever and her name is P.J.

10.  Watched J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life last night and was riveted.

11.  I haven’t seen The Half Blood Prince yet, maybe tomorrow.

12.  A week without a new House of Grey episode is a sad week indeed.

13.  Grad student Blair Hurley has a super info blog.  She posts a really interesting pic weekly to get the creative juices flowing.

14.  I’m as excited about Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana as my kids are.  wow. that’s sad.

15.  I don’t know why I’m surprised when I look under my daughter’s bed and see that it is stuffed to the wall with toys, books, clothes, etc. I did the same thing as a kid, but it’s shocking to me that my perfect little angel would do something so devious as shove everything under her bed in order to get her room “clean” faster.

During the school year I liked to write during the day.  This is understandable considering the fact that I was the only person at home.  If I didn’t feel like stopping to make lunch, I didn’t have to.  There were hours and hours, six and a half of them, in fact, that I had free and clear to do with what I pleased…for the most part.  Now it’s the beginning 0f the sixth week of summer vacation and those free hours are long gone.  I don’t even try to write during the day anymore.  I haven’t yet mastered the art of working on a project in five minute stints.  Cause that’s about the amount of time I would get before it’s snack time or lunch time or break-up-the-same-fight-that’s-been-had-every-day-for-the-last-month time.

So my production has slowed quite a bit since my natural inclination after the kids have stopped popping up for water and lullabys–is to fall stoopid on the couch and veg out to one mindless show or another (my current faves are King of the Hill and Malcolm in the Middle).  That’s why it’s taken me a coupla weeks to write a short story…which has now stretched past my first limit of 5,000 words.  Lately I’ve been wondering if it might turn into one of those cute little novella things.

I was having trouble finding an ending for a little while.  I finally got it, typed it up in short hand at he end of what I’ve already written and now I’m just waiting to finish it properly.  Normally I wouldn’t even worry about finding the ending before it just came to me.  It was the whole word limit thing that forced that one.

That’s another thing I’ve been thinking about lately.  If anyone ever asks me for an outline I’d be in trouble.  My stories aren’t planned, they just happen…kinda like the rest of my life.  I seriously don’t know what I’m going to write about until I sit down with pencil and spiral, or keyboard and monitor and start writing.  I’ve tried thinking a story out first and nothing happens.  You’d think this method would cause a lot of re-writes, but it hasn’t yet so I’m thinking about sticking with it, especially since I don’t have any other choice.  If anyone out there has that same quirk drop me a line, it would be nice to know that I’m not alone.  Or, just let me know what your odd writing quirk is…

Here’s a random pic of Joey with a horse.  Enjoy…while I rant.

Please tell me I’m not the only person with this problem.  There is so much to do and I can’t seem to start on any of it.  My three day migraine bender was finally over when I woke up this morning…oh happy day!  So the haze has cleared to reveal….dun dum da da dum…chaos.  Grumpy, cooped up kids, piles of dishes and a generally trashed house has tempered the relief I felt at waking up without pain in every movement.

Why am I writing about it instead of taking care of business?  I’m slightly overwhelmed.  If I start on the laundry it will use the hot water that I need for the dishes.  Can’t start the dishes until I have some clean counter space….and it goes on and on like that.  When I get to the end of the list which takes quite a bit of effort in itself, I will start with that.  But for now I am doing a list item that doesn’t require figuring what came first, the chicken or the egg.  And when I’m done I can check off one thing I’ve accomplished.  That is, I would if I ever actually made a to do list.

All this has to be done and I’m so far from what I really want to be doing, working on book two.  Oh how I long for the days of hours of uninterrupted writing (also known as school days).

Oh, by the way, if there is ever a blog post you hate, or even mildly dislike, you can bet it was typed on a migraine day.  I’m like Jekyl and Hyde I tell ya…

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest (as if you had a choice).