As life races on I find that I can't possibly keep up. The thing is, I don't build any time in for the things that "come up". I book my time so tightly that when one thing pops in, it throws off the whole balance. Yesterday I was so on top of things. Dinner was made before seven, kids were in bed by 8:30 (not that they went to sleep, mind you, but at least my side was taken care of. That was half the battle.
And here I stand today, right back where I was at the beginning of the week.
I'm no closer to opening "Book Name" than on any other day, but I'm not giving up. In the mean time, I'm going to try to get an article published about our medical mission to China.
For those of you who don't know, Eric and I spent 10 days in China a year ago. It was a fantastic trip, with Eric getting sick on rice wine only the once. (All three of the men took a turn over-indulging.) The funny thing was, it was one of our own that made that toast that put him over the edge. Leave it to the stupid Americans to self-destruct from within.
Anyway, for those of you who are interested, I will put the article in the next post.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Where does the time go?
I am a Time Waster. For such a busy person, you'd think I had a better handle on how I spend my time, but the truth is that the minutes and seconds slip away until hours have gone by and I've accomplished nothing. I just space out and lose focus. And by the time I get it back, I've lost any opportunity I may have had to catch up or even get ahead of where I wanted to be.
So, in response, I sacrifice my sleep. It's a vicious cycle. If I wasn't so tired, perhaps I could focus better, and if I could focus I could get things done in a timely manner. And then, if I could get things done, I could go to sleep on time. Instead, I'm behind, not having finished importing my latest audiobook find, and not quite ready for my next Girl Scout meeting, and the laundry is half done from the weekend, and the whites from last week still need to be folded.
Am I the only one with an aversion to folding socks? Especially socks for 5 people? I'm going to hazard a guess at no, but either way, commiseration won't get the socks matched and folded. My husband might, though.
It's almost as if I hold myself back. Because if I was actually on top of things or even ahead, I might have a calmer, less harried life. It could be considered some measure of success. I must say, I agree with whomever said, "The fear of success is greater than the fear of failure".
Can I actually do this? What must it feel like to succeed? And not just on the outside, but deep down where I know in my heart that I've met my own rigorous standards. Ultimately I'll answer to myself.
So, in response, I sacrifice my sleep. It's a vicious cycle. If I wasn't so tired, perhaps I could focus better, and if I could focus I could get things done in a timely manner. And then, if I could get things done, I could go to sleep on time. Instead, I'm behind, not having finished importing my latest audiobook find, and not quite ready for my next Girl Scout meeting, and the laundry is half done from the weekend, and the whites from last week still need to be folded.
Am I the only one with an aversion to folding socks? Especially socks for 5 people? I'm going to hazard a guess at no, but either way, commiseration won't get the socks matched and folded. My husband might, though.
It's almost as if I hold myself back. Because if I was actually on top of things or even ahead, I might have a calmer, less harried life. It could be considered some measure of success. I must say, I agree with whomever said, "The fear of success is greater than the fear of failure".
Can I actually do this? What must it feel like to succeed? And not just on the outside, but deep down where I know in my heart that I've met my own rigorous standards. Ultimately I'll answer to myself.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
What's in a name?
I decided to create this blog to vent some of my frustration about not having a title for my novel-in-process and wouldn't you know, in the process of creating this blog, they actually wanted me to name it. I nearly gave up right then and there. Then my post had to have a title.
I'm being inundated with requests for a title before I even have the finished product to reflect upon. To me, the title should either sum up the meaning of the piece, or point out a critical detail within it. Yet despite how well I know the summary of my book, I still can't name it.
I threw two ideas at my husband tonight, who, by the way, is also very familiar with the content of the book. The first, "Refocused", didn't sound right to him. The second, "Skip the Next Step" didn't work either. No explanation of course, and he apologized for not being able to give me further insight. Fat lot of good it did me.
I have been agonizing over this "minor" detail since I decided that I needed to write a novel. I inserted a place holder in my manuscript - "Book Name" - and it frustrates me every time I open the file to work. I did this so that I could move on to the business of writing, but it's like a slap in the face every time I see it. It feels like I've forgotten to name my child prior to leaving the hospital, and here it is, 2 years old and still no name.
Yes, I've been working on my book for 2 years, and no, I don't know what to name it. The file name is "Hannah and Garrett", because the book is about them, even though it isn't really about them. It's really about Hannah and her self-deception and her nearly cataclysmic mistake of almost marrying Marc. And luckily she's saved from her own - how do you say - momentum.
Now that's an interesting word. It's the first time I've thought about it in relation to Hannah's life course. Or even Inertia - a body of motion stays in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Anyone remember The Breakfast Club? "Physics, laws of physics, properties of physics..." No? It's my favorite line from the movie having been a geek all my life. I'm still a geek, but now that the geeks have taken over the world, it's a lot more cool than it was in the 6th grade.
So, back to Hannah. Inertia makes sense if you think of Garrett as the outside force. Because if it weren't for him, She would be Mrs. Hannah Gennaro and would probably be in the middle of a miserable divorce not 2 years from the end of the final chapter.
Inertia. I'm not married to it, but maybe it will grow on me. If not, there's always "Book Name".
I'm being inundated with requests for a title before I even have the finished product to reflect upon. To me, the title should either sum up the meaning of the piece, or point out a critical detail within it. Yet despite how well I know the summary of my book, I still can't name it.
I threw two ideas at my husband tonight, who, by the way, is also very familiar with the content of the book. The first, "Refocused", didn't sound right to him. The second, "Skip the Next Step" didn't work either. No explanation of course, and he apologized for not being able to give me further insight. Fat lot of good it did me.
I have been agonizing over this "minor" detail since I decided that I needed to write a novel. I inserted a place holder in my manuscript - "Book Name" - and it frustrates me every time I open the file to work. I did this so that I could move on to the business of writing, but it's like a slap in the face every time I see it. It feels like I've forgotten to name my child prior to leaving the hospital, and here it is, 2 years old and still no name.
Yes, I've been working on my book for 2 years, and no, I don't know what to name it. The file name is "Hannah and Garrett", because the book is about them, even though it isn't really about them. It's really about Hannah and her self-deception and her nearly cataclysmic mistake of almost marrying Marc. And luckily she's saved from her own - how do you say - momentum.
Now that's an interesting word. It's the first time I've thought about it in relation to Hannah's life course. Or even Inertia - a body of motion stays in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Anyone remember The Breakfast Club? "Physics, laws of physics, properties of physics..." No? It's my favorite line from the movie having been a geek all my life. I'm still a geek, but now that the geeks have taken over the world, it's a lot more cool than it was in the 6th grade.
So, back to Hannah. Inertia makes sense if you think of Garrett as the outside force. Because if it weren't for him, She would be Mrs. Hannah Gennaro and would probably be in the middle of a miserable divorce not 2 years from the end of the final chapter.
Inertia. I'm not married to it, but maybe it will grow on me. If not, there's always "Book Name".
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