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| Photo courtesy | Flickr: Andrew Rivett |
No matter how
we try, our writing life may not follow the plan we had set for it. Recently I had a chance to experience a couple bumps I hadn't expected.
Last year I
wrote the gluten-free eating
book and was thrilled with the experience. Capitalizing on the momentum I
was feeling, I focused on some fiction I've had rattling around in my head. I expected I would
be able to write another book and
looked forward to completing
it. This spring, I was
contacted to write another book for
the same publisher.
I put the fiction aside and hit the ground running. I
Googled. I went to the library. I started checking out books on the book's
subject. I downloaded medical reports. I visualized writing the book and
following the same pattern that worked so well last year.
And then I looked at my life. Really looked at it. I looked
at it more than just
clearing the proposed deadline date in my calendar. There was too much going on
in my life as it is: My mother-in-law
and ailing father-in-law
have moved to town. I have a different, more
demanding job than I had last year. I
accepted several teaching gigs this summer, which I
had rarely done
before. I'm traveling a bit in the next couple months.
And I wanted to relax and explore new avenues, such as recipe development.
So, I returned the books to the library. Recycled the
medical reports I had printed. I removed my name from consideration and
scratched my name off the imaginary byline I had
already envisioned.
While I enjoy writing and think the book would have been a
great challenge, I'm glad I made the decision I did. I’m picking the fiction
up, albeit a slower pace than previously, and spending quality time with my in-laws.
I’m just trying to enjoy my life
right now, even if I've hit a speed bump in my writing plans.
Do you make plans with
your writing life? How well do they pan
out? What do you do when you hit a speed bump?
Elizabeth King Humphrey is
a writer and editor living in
coastal North Carolina. When
she’s not at her computer,
she is happily playing in her kitchen.
2 comments:
Elizabeth--I think our writing is like the ocean. (Or, at least MINE is.) There's ebb and flow to consider. Sometimes our writing is at high tide--lots of words, lots of projects, lots of productivity. Other times, our writing is at low tide. Not much time or not much inspiration. Things--sometimes ugly things, sometimes fascinating and alluring things--float in close enough for us to grab onto.
If a writer doesn't take the time to live or doesn't find some balance between their writing and the "stuff" that makes up their life, I think their writing suffers.
Enjoy your in-laws, enjoy the recipe work and enjoy the fiction writing you're doing...'cause soon, it will be high tide again.
It's an honor that the publisher asked you to write another book! It means you did a great job, and you are smart for knowing that at this point, you can't enjoy life and still get the work done. You did a smart thing that we can all learn from.
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