Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Inspiration

Inspiration to write is everywhere.

Time to do it in is next to nowhere to be found. As evidenced by the lateness of my posting today. *g* So many things demanding attention that time disappears at warp speed. At least for me.

At the beginning of the year I realized that I have been working so hard to be successful in publishing that I no longer have time to do the thing I love the most in publishing -- write. And I miss it. I have so many ideas, stories, characters and love affairs running around in my head I can't sleep at night. They all want out. They want to have life breathed into them and readers to know about their stories. And I realized I NEED to let them escape, if only so I can get some sleep! *g*  So I have taken drastic measures.

I forced myself to agree to write a very short story for an anthology. A few thousand words. Not a big commitment on the face of it but it has been proving to be a challenge anyway. That drastic measure one.

Two has been to declare every Friday as an email free day for the rest of the year. I have challenged myself to not even OPEN my email accounts. Because if I do, the hours will disappear and I won't have moved an inch in my chair. The worse part is I'll have accomplished writing thousands of words and not one of them will be in a new story! And that is a daily event. Running a successful small press with 2 growing imprints, a busy and hectic family life and volunteer work for the a nearby hospice means dozens (sometimes hundreds) of emails a day.

I'll try and keep a running report of how well I do with my self imposed rules of conduct. Maybe even post an excerpt or two! Wish me luck. I'll need it.  

4 comments:

Diana McCollum said...

Good Luck, Laura!! I so totally agree with you on e-mail being a time drain! I've gotten so addicted to having to know what is going on. I am going to adapt your policy and choose one day a week to be e-mail free! That is one of the best ideas I've come across.

Judith Ashley said...

Laura, I'm recovering from a bug and had two days I wasn't on the computer - but - I did check email on my phone. What works for me in doing that is that I can delete messages or skim them. I found nothing I had to get off the couch for. I've made a commitment to check my emails on my phone rather than on the computer because I spend less time doing it...and I seldom answer them which is the big time saver.

Like Diana, I'd love to have you keep us up-dated. Maybe by this time next year I'll keep one day a week email free also.

Sarah Raplee said...

I'm glad you are writing again, Laura! Let us know when the anthology comes out so we can promo the book!

Karen Duvall said...

Good on you, Laura, for taking these steps! I should follow your example.