So, What Have You Written Today?

This age of pandemic, quarantine, or whatever you want to call it (I think we are going to have to come up with a name for this period. Any ideas?), seems like a good opportunity to write. You are home. Everything is closed so there are no distractions. Well . . . not so much. My job has not closed. I am not working from home. My worksite and hours are pretty much the same as normal. There are less people in my office, as about half of them can work from home. My job doesn’t really allow me to work from home, at least until our IT department decides to let me take equipment home and have full access to the network (not happening).

So, there is no extra time for me. But it is still true that there are fewer distractions. My wife and I can’t go to movies or plays, or out to eat. We can’t just pop in the car on a Saturday and go on a road trip to one of our favorite places. So, in that respect, I am spending more time at home. But it is amazing, the human capacity for finding ways to waste time. Reading, watching TV, doing puzzles, connecting with friends or family, it all lures me away from writing. I shouldn’t say waste time. It’s not all wasted time. I have to read. You can’t be a writer if you are not a reader. And going for walks or other exercise is important. Still, there are many hours when I could be writing that I find a way to procrastinate around the house.

I have done some writing. I haven’t been a total slouch. I have finished three short stories in the past two months, and there are these blogs, and I have poked around at some other writing projects. It is just that, I can see that it is not as much as I might have accomplished. Setting aside a time for writing, I mean, dedicating an hour here or there to writing is important if you want to get anything done. I have found that when I dedicate a specific time for writing, I will write. Don’t wait for the muse to come, just write. The muse will take care of herself. But I am not always as good as I should be at setting that time aside.

I am also waiting for responses from the three short stories I sent to various places. But during the great plague (seriously, come up with a new name for me, please) responses are greatly slowed. I can’t even know for sure if anyone is even working at these organizations. Anyway, I am not going to worry about it. Move on to the next project. Maybe an epic fantasy series . . . hmm.

(My novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon and other online sources).

Link to Star Liner

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