Time Off Can Be Bliss

As a freelance writer, many times I feel my office never closes.  After all, if someone contacts me on Sunday afternoon and has a rush job they want me to do for them, I'm not likely to turn them down.  That's a writer's life.

Yesterday, my office was closed.  I went to Gasparilla, and didn't think about work all day.  It was strange knowing I couldn't check my messages to see if a client had contacted me, but during the day I realized that it's sometimes important to take a day off to recharge, spend time with the Hubs, and let things mull a bit.  It was just what I needed.  And even though, when we got home I was exhausted and ready to go to bed, I was mentally ready to get back to work.

There needs to be a balance between working and taking time off.  Yes, it's true that, as writers, we only get paid when we write, but is it better to stay up until threein the morning to try and finish an article, or go to bed and get up an hour or two early the next morning to finish it?

It's hard for me to "turn it off" when it comes to writing, but I have a little index card on my desk that helps me keep it in perspective a little bit.  It says, "Even the military gives leave."  The idea is that companies give time off to their employees for good reason.  Everyone needs a break from time to time.  Even if it's one day to go to a crazy pirate festival, you have to allow yourself time to step away from the chaos of work and enjoy being a person once in a while.

Even the hermit herself goes to Mexico to see the Peacemakers.  Everyone needs time off every now and then.

I'm not saying you should schedule two weeks off every year.  That may work for you, but you may not be able to afford that, either.  But maybe it works for you to take one or two days off each week, or one weekend each month, or whatever in order to step away from the office and spend time with family, friends, and fur babies.  The work will be there when you get back.  I promise.  As long as you won't miss a deadline or a meeting or something by taking a day off, it could be really good for you.  At Gasparilla yesterday, I saw about a hundred people that would make fun characters in various stories, and I came up with an entire short story plot.  If I'd stayed home, I would've missed out on that.

What's your schedule?  Does it allow for time off regularly?

What would you do for office supplies?

Do you remember the old Klondike bar commercials in which "ordinary people" were asked to do silly things in exchange for a delicious Klondike bar?  (Please tell me you remember.)

Those commercials came up in a conversation I had yesterday, which got me to thinking about what I would want in exchange for silly or absurd behavior.  Other than money, office supplies are the only thing I'd consider in exchange.  (Yeah.  I'm a nerd.  Get over it.)  I know it's the writer in me.  After all, what else is so valuable to a writer than tools to write?

Sure, I'll hop on one foot.  But you gotta give me that beautiful blue ink roller ball pen in your pocket.  Didn't think I noticed?  I noticed.

What is the most extreme thing you would do in exchange for office supplies (or your personal equivalent of office supplies)?

Kitty Games, TLC in the afternoons, and other such nonsense

My writing plate hasn't been as full lately as it has been in the past, so I frequently find myself in the middle of the afternoon with little or nothing to do except watch A Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby on TLC.

And while it's very fun for me to watch baby shows every afternoon and get all teary when they hand Baby to Mama, during the commercials I find myself thinking, "Crap. I should be writing something."  Then I feel guilty at having wasted the afternoon watching TV instead of writing or reading or anything productive.  And playing games with our crazy cat Azshara who likes to chase movement under the covers doesn't count as productive, I suppose.

So I've decided to tighten up my schedule just a bit, particularly since, this time next year, I'll have an adorable, cherubic, perfectly mellow ::snort:: Baby NP on my hip who may need attention when my Muse taps on my shoulder.  This will also be helpful in case I need to venture outside of the house for a bit of traditional income-seeking and won't have the flexible writing schedule I currently boast.  (Just how is call center work, heart sister?)  More on that some other time, though.

In the many books about freelance writing I have, every single one of them talks about having a schedule and sticking to it in order to stay productive.  I'm afraid I've let myself get a little lax in that area, and I'm suffering the consequences (often referred to as procrastination and/or laziness).  So I'm reworking my daily schedule to accomodate my new dedication to productivity, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I stick to the schedule I create.

And until I finalize said schedule, I'm going to spend as much time playing with the kitters as possible.

Don't judge me.

I could be writing a story about cats.  You don't know.

Reading in 2009

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to read more.  I used to read all the time (especially during college), and I've fallen out of the habit of sitting down on a rainy afternoon and opening a book.  It's a bit embarrassing.

So to help me be more accountable for my reading (or lack thereof), I've decided to make my reading a bit more public.  So if I fall behind, not only will I have my personal guilt to deal with, but also the guilt of any readers of my blog who decide it fitting to scold me for not keeping up with my personal reading goal of completing at least two books each month.

The first book I'm going to read (which will count for February, obviously) is The Meridian Anthology of Early Women Writers: British Literary Women from Aphra Ben to Maria Edgeworth, 1660-1800, edited by Katharine M. Rogers and William McCarthy.  I picked it up at a used bookstore a few weeks ago and it's been sitting on my desk since then, begging to be opened and explored.  One of the things that excites me about reading this anthology is that I don't know the authors in it.

What are you reading right now, and why?  What are your reading goals for 2009?

John Updike (1932-2009)

I think Nathan Bransford says it best:

"Another titan has fallen."

You will be missed, sir.

Explanation, Announcement, and Jumping Up and Down in Excitement

I really love this blog.  It's been a way for me to keep in touch with friends, fellow writers and readers, and random people I've met in the blogosphere.  However, you may have noticed that my blogging became a bit erratic right before Christmas, and hasn't quite gotten back to normal yet.  Well, my life has been quite chaotic since Christmas, so I haven't been blogging here as faithfully as I once did.  I can officially tell you why.

I've been cheating on this blog with an invite-only blog since December.  I know.  And I'm sorry.  But this blog is very important to me, and now that I've made it a public blog, I can tell you about it.

I'm pregnant.

Yes, that's right.  The Coffee-Stained Writer is going to have a little java bean of her own!  Squee!!

You forgive me now, right?

"Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth Alexander

The following is the poem written and recited by Elizabeth Alexander at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum, 
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign, 
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward in that light.

Detail, Exile, and Tequila-Stained Rambling

If you haven't already, I suggest you pop over to En Tequila Es Verdad to check this out.

I always adore Dana's ramblings, and this post was no exception.  Not only in her explanations of the feeling of being "other," but also her comments about the importance of detail in writing.  She says:

The most inconsequential detail can end up having huge dramatic impact, taking the plot in a completely different direction from what you'd considered, or changing the relationship between characters in a subtle but fundamental way. It can keep the story from following much-treaded paths. One detail can change absolutely everything.

If only more writers realized this, m'dear.

Scholars say....

I've kept journals on and off throughout most of my life.  Even when I could only write my name and a few odds and ends, I hid notebooks I found in order to be able to have diaries for myself.

Blogging opened a new world of journaling for me.  Not only did it provide a creative outlet, but holy moly I could share my ideas with others and allow them to react!  Wow!

In addition to blogging, though, I've managed to (somewhat) keep a traditional journal for myself.  For one thing, despite my navel-gazing on this and my other blog, there are things I'd rather not share with the whole world(wide web).  A traditional journal allows me to record those thoughts, ideas, and fears without inviting comments.

Also, I think there's something romantic about writing in a journal.  My current journal is a beautiful leather-bound one I got from my sister, and I love curling up in bed with my journal and favorite black ink roller ball pen to reflect on the day (or week) and how I feel about whatever's important in my life at the time.

I know some people keep journals in order to record their own history for the people who may be interested in it: children, grandchildren, scholars....

I've considered the fact that, someday, someone may come across Grandma NP's journal and wonder what she thought about when she first got married or started her family or moved to Ireland (ha!).  I love history, so I'd love to be able to read an ancestor's journals, to see what they found significant, as well as mundane.

However, when I'm journaling and I think about future generations reading what I write, I get a little self-conscious.  I mean, some of my journal entries are pretty...boring.  Even I only scan them if I decide to reread my journal.  What would my great-great-granddaughter think of me if she read my endless lists and weird ramblings?  Will I be labeled vapid or flakey or obsessive-compulsive?  It's in those moments I find myself thinking about editing what I'm writing to make it more "future-worthy."  Usually I catch myself and go back to writing the way I want, but the thought of what people might say about me based on what I leave behind between the leather covers of my journals.

What would you want said about you if someone picked up your journal and thumbed through it?  Would you consider burning your journals to prevent people from getting them?

2009, on Its First Day

Welcome to 2009!  I hope you accomplished all you wanted to during 2008, and I hope you're starting 2009 with a fresh perspective, a good attitude, and a smile.  There's lots that can be accomplished this year, and today is the first day to do that.

I'm looking forward to an exciting, eventful year, as well!  I have a lot going on this year, both professionally and personally, and while I'm not fully sure what to expect, I know 2009 will be a good year.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my professional resolutions.  There's a lot I want to accomplish this year, and between my business plan and my professional resolutions, I think I'll be able to meet my goals.

In no particular order, here are some of my New Year's Resolutions.

• Read (at least) two books each month, and keep a better record of what I've read.
• Write (at least) 7500 productive words a month (may be supplemented with editing).  At least half of written words each month must be fiction.
• Do a better job of staying "in the know" when it comes to the publishing industry.
• Follow my 2009 business plan to strengthen CSW.
• Experiment with a different genre/writing style each month (calendar forthcoming).