Drat! Not another one…
Sitting down to write a first draft has become a
ritual-filled routine. I begin with shutting down all the likely distractions.
Cell phone- Off. Landline set on Do Not
Disturb mode, and turned around so I won’t even see the orange light that
tells of a message left. Silent headphones on so if anyone dares talk to me, I
can point at then frantically- not now!
And then my ever-friendly mail-carrier honks his horn
to let me know he’s got a package. How can I ignore Louis, who will climb up
the gazillion rickety stairs to our house rather than leave a package by the
garage as his predecessors used to?
Friendly Louis gone, I’m back to hunker-down mode. The
words begin to flow again. I ignore my cat, the Honorable Stella Marbles, as
she decides to meow at the door. Miss Marbles doesn’t give up. She gets louder
and I begin to wonder why my family members call her The Quiet One. None of
them let her in- too busy. She wins.
All settled again, when there’s a tap at the window. My neighbor is dropping
her Thank-You Bundt cake for my watching her cats all last week. She didn’t
want to leave it on the porch, you see, and well- no one was answering the
door.
The real challenge, it seems, should be finding le mot juste. Instead it is a dance
between keeping the words streaming in, and the door-knockers out.
I’m determined. So is the raven. Let me get in a day’s
work- only this, and nothing more.
So did you open the package, have a slice of bundt cake with some coffee?
ReplyDeleteMay the muse be with you as you bang the keys.
Yes! I'm looking forward to doing just that tomorrow. I worked at my daughter's school today and came home with a raging headache. Hopefully I'll finish with WIP tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand! I don't have people knocking as much as interruptions from my children and husband! Love the comic of Edgar and the raven! And I love your cat's name Honorable Stella Marbles!
ReplyDeleteOh you do so much better than I, Mirka. I would have had coffee and cake with the neighbor and at least checked my email 2 or 3 times. See here I am again, being distracted. May all the distractions in life balance with being focused to produce something that you feel good about.
ReplyDeleteSee, what you need to do is become an anti-social hermit. Then no one comes knocking. It works for me! :-)
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that we writers must release some pheromone when we want to be left absolutely alone to work. This airborne chemical is what attracts interruptions. I wish there was some counter-spray that I could douse myself with, but alas, no.
ReplyDeleteBundt cakes are nice as interruptions go. But still.
Hah! This is so true. The curse of working from home. And it gets even worse when I blithely think I'll take a break and check email...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck with the new draft!
I completely understand, Mirka! Usually when I sit down to write, some thing, animal, or person interrupts me! This is when I think I need a "writing cave." Good luck with the drafting!
ReplyDeleteHope you managed to get that first draft done, Mirka. Interruptions can be frustrating, but I personally think that in the long run people relationships are even more important than our writing (Is it heresy for me to say that?). So the fact that you have packages arriving and a neighbor bringing you bundt cake is a sign to me that you have your priorities straight (at least according to Ev). :)
ReplyDeleteI know. The internet is my biggest distraction! Like right now. I much rather be reading your blog than writing. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is one advantage of winter in a cold climate, and one of my favorite things about winter, period. Much easier to seal yourself away.
ReplyDeleteOh, so true, Mirka. The times I am truly productive are when I am home alone. Everything else is an uphill battle.
ReplyDelete