Tag Archives: writing

Finishing my book

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I am writing.

Well, I am charged with writing my book, but instead I am writing a blog post.

We are at the beach and it's a gorgeous morning (after a series of awful, cold, windy and rainy mornings). "We" refers to me and the two Shelties that are doing a good job of distracting me from writing. Milli and Boomer are here because I knew I would worry about them if they were home. But they sure require a lot of my precious attention.

They are out wandering on the deck right now. I'm at the beach house that will be occupied by the ADDiva retreat women in October, I am living in it so I will know how we can best use it for the retreat. Already I am envisioning yoga at sunrise and meetings at the octagonal deck on the sand. It's a marvelous place to be.

But my book is going more slowly than I anticipated and I have a DEADLINE. OK, I will say it out loud: my book is going to be written, edited and printed by my birthday, April 29, 2011. OMG! Are you kidding me?

The more I write, the more I need to write. I worked with Judith Kohlberg for a weekend and she encouraged me to drop out a lot of stuff I thought was important ("You have other books to write. Save something for them," she told me). But I am adding that stuff back in. It IS important. And I want this book to be rich and full of tidbits and anecdotes about life in the non-linear lane.

Here I am sitting at my brought-from-home desk with adjustable tables all around me. It's an amazing view. I wish I had more time (don't I ALWAYS Wish I had more time?) but I promise you this: the book WILL be done. DONE, do you hear me? DONE. By my birthday.

So I'd better write…see you later..and keep WRITING!!

10 minutes of thinking = more focus

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"For the next 10 minutes, I want you to simply sit and think," said our writing coach. "And most importantly – don't write anything down. Let the ideas flow freely. Just think."

Argh! For a group of women writers aged 50 and better, eager to implement the writing tips proferred by Peggy Payne, author of the novel Sister India, it was a tough assignment. Especially so for me.

I like to capture my ideas as they emerge; after all, what if they leave my ADD brain never to return? It's happened more times than I can remember (OK, that was a really bad joke). But I complied with her request. I had paid for the writing workshop. Might as well get my money's worth.

At first my brain refused to cooperate. It zipped around the room, stealing glances at everyone else. Then I closed my eyes and dredged up the plotline of the story I was writing. How would it end? Who was the main character anyway? What kind of life did she lead? Where would she have gone on vacation?

Little by little, a new scene was built in my head. I was actually focusing on the story without a computer or a pen and paper or even my iPhone at my fingertips. Ten minutes is a long time when you are "thinking."

Peggy finally rang the timer and we regrouped. But I realized that I had found a new weapon in my ADD arsenal: taking time to THINK. About only one thing. One thing. How profoundly simple. Yet profoundly powerful.

Do I take my 10 minutes regularly? No. Do I want to do more of it? Yes. So today I pledge to THINK at least once a day. About whatever is at hand. But without computer, paper, tape recorder – anything.

And I will trust myself to remember whatever I need to thereafter.