By Leisha Maw
This morning I woke up to a cat fight. Again. I then lay in bed for forty-five minutes avoiding the day. The alarm started going off. I snoozed it. It went off for thirty minutes. I snoozed it every three minutes. Pathetic? Yup.
As I lay there--arms crossed, frown marring my face--I had a thought. Now, to those of you who know me this in and of it self may be quite surprising, but yes I had a thought, and it turned into a conversation with me.
Me 1: I do this with my writing!
Me 2: Do what?
Me1: Snooze it.
Me 2: Say what? You need more sleep. Turn off the alarm. Again.
Me 1: No. Listen to me. I've been snoozing my writing all week. It's Friday, and I haven't made any progress.
Me 2: You deserved a break.
Me 1: For a week?
Me 2: Sure.
Me 1: Pshha! Whatever. Get out of bed right now and get to work! Don't make me make you!
Me 2: All right. Sheesh. Get ornery and everything.
Anywho, after I finished arguing with myself, I did get up, and I'd like to think it was more than slipping out from under the covers and trudging downstairs to get kids ready for school. I think it was a wake-up call for my writing. I didn't consciously realise how I'd been snoozing it. I found other things that seemed important. Now, some were honest things and did need my attention, like my family and breathing, but I don't think I really needed to watch Superhumans last night. Or NCIS, or check my email 8,000 times. I don't think I even needed to run those extra virus scans. I just wanted distractions to make me feel like I was working, when I was snoozing my writing.
So, I vow to kill the snooze button. I will write. And after I write, I just might take a nap. *Grumbles under breath about cat.*
What do you do to snooze your writing?
Leisha Maw
That's an excellent way to put it, and yes--I've been snoozing my writing for almost a month now. It's a bad feeling, kinda like lying in bed for too long...
ReplyDeleteSummer, maybe you can have a conversation with yourself, too. :) It is a bad feeling, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSometimes we have to lock the cats out of our bedrooms. They just have too much fun partying at night all over our heads.
ReplyDeleteThat was an excellent thought that you had! I'm having an enforced "snooze day" today as I have two little ones home sick. I think I might catch up on my reading. :)
Good luck with the writing!
Thanks so much for finding my blog and following! I look forward to reading more from you too. I love this analogy! I've been hitting the snooze button all week. Last week I had a serious writing deadline to meet, and clearly that's how I work best. When I know something has to be done by a certain time, I turn off the alarm and get to work. With no deadlines, the snooze button gets pushed (again and again...) Maybe that's the answer! Make deadlines for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I do this as well. I've been doing better the past few weeks, but before that? I'd check out blogs, check my e-mail and tell myself everything else I had to do before I wrote anything. Luckily, I've had "time" to write this week and I'm almost finished with my WIP now! :D
ReplyDeleteSusan, sick kids? You have my pitty. I hope the get better fast. :) Enjoy your reading.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I do so much better when I give myself deadlines. Why do I keep forgetting that?
Chantele, hey! Congrats on being so close! That is exciting! :)
I snooze by getting everything else done - and I mean EVERYTHING, like cleaning out the silverware drawer, running down to the store for toothpaste, going through my files. The psyche is an interesting place when it doesn't want to do something. I think we ought to have a snooze button smashing party! Love the analogy!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great analogy, Leisha. I putz around online, like Chantele, checking emails, reading blogs, stuff that keeps me busy to avoid writing. Grrr. Try keeping the cat in tonight :)
ReplyDeleteJonene, a snooze button smashing party sounds cool. What would be use to smash them? Ahhh the posibilities. :)
ReplyDeleteClancy, last night my cat was in. This time it was the neighbor's cat. Curses!
DON'T SNOOZE LEISHA! I want to read your book! You HAVE to finish!
ReplyDeleteMy writing had to go into hibernation for six months while I moved my family to Hawaii. Now it is having a terrible time waking up again. I used to write for three hours a day and wish I had more time. Now after one hour my brain feels cooked and I have to go wash dishes for a while.
I'll get in gear again. Hand me a screwdriver and I'll disable that snooze button.
Rebecca, isn't it crazy how hard it is to start again after taking time off? You will get back in the groove soon, because we are all waiting to read YOUR book!
ReplyDeleteAnd I used a hammer. :)
I'm snoozing my writing by going abroad and reading other peoples' blogs. Someone get me a hammer.
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful that my biggest vices are TV shows and chocolate because I am a horrible influence when it comes to persuading people to do whatever they feel like. Bad news is - I do it to myself as well. So I often find myself snoozing the writing and doing something else (did anyone say blogging?). My goal right now is to get in the habit of writing daily no matter what happens. Sounds like a piece of cake but it's turning to be harder than I thought!
ReplyDeleteK.L., ummmm,I may have that problem, too. *Grins sheepishly*
ReplyDeleteSierra, it is harder than it sounds...unless this is really Monday. If not, then definately harder. :)