Sometimes I question my intelligence. Hush. I like the word sometimes rather than “most of the time.” It’s a quarter of the words! HALF the syllables. I’m being efficient, concise, brief, succinct.
Really, I do. Question my intelligence that is– often. There. That’s a better word.
Diligence. Discipline. These are words we value. We value them because they are value-ABLE. Right? Of course. It still doesn’t make sense, does it. Ok, I’ll lay it out there now that I’ve set the scene of my mind. It seems jumbled, you say? Well, that’s because my mind is. I have mental ADD. I jump from topic to topic and back again faster than you can imagine. I drive most of my friends nuts because of it.
Writing. I do that. Often. Daily. Sometimes all day. It’s my “passion” so to speak.
Remember that thing I said about ADD? It happens in my writing. Even when I do something like NaNoWriMo with a concentrated story for 30 days, I still have to flip open another manuscript or two and pound out a few thousand words on it midstream.
Today I think I discovered why. The average American works five days a week at his or her job. Then they have two days off where they “rest from their labors.” This rest gives them a chance to rejuvenate and feel refreshed when Monday rolls around. Ok, who am I kidding. It makes them dread Monday again. However, how much MORE would we dread it if we didn’t have that break?
Well, really, that’s what I do with my writing. I write and write and write. I force myself to stick to the goal because I need to finish the manuscript. Because I think I need to be responsible and finish what I start without playing with new projects all the time.
You know what. I need that creative break. I know I do. I’ve always known that. But today I figured out why. It refreshes me. It gives me renewed delight in the story that I couldn’t wait to begin months or years ago. And, those clandestine meetings with other stories? Well, those “other stories” (man it sounds like other women/men after using the word clandestine) will someday become that major work. And… I’ll do the same thing with them. I’ll put them down, give their muscles a rest after a rigorous workweek, and get to work on something else that is tempting me. Yes, yes I will.
Who knew being distractable could be a GOOD thing?
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