Thursday, March 19, 2015

Goodbye Winter...Hello Spring!


I don't have good luck writing in the winter. I'm okay up until Thanksgiving, but, after that...poof! All muse and ambition just flies out the window. Cabin fever? Possibly, though I have never had an issue with being cooped up during the cold season. Being cooped up with the kids is a whole different story. My kids like to be gone. They like hanging with their friends and swimming in the pool and enjoying the sunshine past 5 p.m. I can't concentrate with them all here.

December: worst month of the year for me (writing wise). Kids are all home, all the time. Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, Christmas parties, and, of course, Christmas. It's cold, it's snowing, nobody can find their boots, (coats, hats, gloves). Forget it, I'm lucky if I can write a shopping list successfully.

January: Once I've recovered from New Year's Eve, there are Christmas decorations to put away.(who can concentrate with all those colorful blinking lights anyway?) It's drab, it's cold, it's snowy. School is back in session and everyone, including me, is crabby. Football season ends and that brings a whole new level of sadness knowing I won't see another game until pre-season starts in August. And August is light-years away from January. I can't concentrate.

February: Still cold, still dreary, still snowing. Stupid Groundhog lets me down once again. I should write. Screw it, I'd rather take a nap.

You may be wondering if there is a point to this line of babble. Well, in fact, there is. A month ago, probably not, but it's March, the weather has broken and I have had an epiphany thanks to Mr. Stephen King, my personal hero and horror writer extraordinaire.

In a recent interview, King said that to be a serious writer you must write every day. Every day. I realized then that what I'd been doing is making excuses. No matter the weather, the chaos, the complete upheaval your life is in, a writer writes...always.

I read those words a few weeks ago and from that day on, I have sat down to write every day. The chapters are coming together and I am churning out pages at a rate I have never done before. And it is an amazing feeling. It feels like Spring.

So, no more excuses. A writer writes...always.


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8 comments:

  1. My thoughts exactly! Who can write when the world is like a big black hole..and cold. But yep, no excuses anymore! We have to hop back on the writing bike and start working :)

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  2. Awesome post! Although I find it easier to write when it's rainy and snowy (unless the power goes out). But keep on keeping on. I love your books!

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  3. Wonderful Post!! Here's to sunshine on your shoulder!!

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  4. Oh...but those excuses are so easy to find! Hope your muse is back...wearing flip flops and sipping sweet tea. ;)

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  5. Happy Spring, Donna!

    Stephen King must be doing something right. ;) Excuses are bountiful (I know) I hope your new-found daily writing sessions are even more bountiful.

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  6. Winter is rough for me also. I love seeing the trees in bloom and the children playing. Life motivates me to write. Staying cooped up makes me want comfort food!

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  7. Stephen King knows what he's talking about, but I still struggle with following such sage advice. I hope the sun and (hopefully) warmer weather continue to offer you writing opportunities and motivation!

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  8. Great blog, I could relate to so much of what you said, and then BOOM, the reminder at the end...I need to be more diligent about writing! thanks for that! :)
    Thanks also for participating in the hop!

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