Write On Wednesday: Expanding Time

In a productive, well-ordered life two elements must be managed: time and work. Poor time managers fail to recognize the difference between the two elements: Work is infinite; time is finite. Therefore, you must manage your time, not your work. Work expands to fill whatever time is allotted to it. ...The concept of "finishing your work" is a contradiction in terms so dangerous that it can lead to a nervous breakdown - because it puts the pressure on the wrong places in your mind and habits. Time, on the other hand, is finite, though there's much more of it available than people who manage it poorly think. The real problem is we don't have enough disciplined energy to use all the time that's given us. A Writer's Time, by Kenneth Atchity

It's probably the most common complaint heard today, and one I've made myself many times on these very pages. There  isn't enough time to write, play music, quilt, bike ride - whatever your consuming passion happens to be, there's never enough time to satisfy your appetite for it. Time is definitely finite, and while it can expand in horrific ways when you're in pain or worried or bored, it can also expand positively to allow you the opportunity to feed your dreams.

Within the past couple of months, I suddenly find myself with more finite time available than I've had in years.  I'm working part time from home, I'm not currently involved in an active music group, the moving saga is over and our old house tidily cleaned out and sold. Suddenly, my time has expanded before my eyes.

That's a good thing, but it's also a scary thing. Because I know how easy it is to fritter the time away with shopping or social media or dithering over what to have for dinner. Now I'm faced with the task of learning to manage time in a different way - rather than successfully juggling dozens of tasks and responsibilities in a day, I have entire days with nothing on my schedule. (I know, don't hate me.) And I want to make the most of that.

Writing will be a major component of the way I spend my new expanded time. I am poised to make the step from writer to Writer. I have a serious project underway, I've joined a writing group for inspiration, support, and feedback.  Soon I will leave this blogging space behind for a self-hosted page that supports this next step in my writing life.

My "success" in any of this depends on two things - willpower and attitude. Willpower to develop writing habits that work for me at this time in my life and stick to them as much as possible, while retaining enough flexibility to participate in life's other pleasurable and mandatory activities.

Just as important is adjusting my attitude from one of laser focus on the finished product to one of full participation in the process. I've always been a product oriented type of person, trying to get things done as quickly as possible. And I sometimes burn myself out early, lose interest if things take too long.  I've realized that this constant pressure  to finish things is adversely affecting my work habits. Kenneth Atchity also writes, "Instead of trying to finish your work, you need merely find time to do your work; then simply concentrate on doing it the best you can. The satisfaction will come from knowing that each day you've allotted time for the work you love, the work you want to do."

Do I want to finish this novel I've started to write? Of course. But I also want to savor the process. A novel is so much more than the sum of its words. I want to take the time to think about these characters I'm creating, to immerse myself in the work of other novelists who have written books I admire in similar genres, to research and study the psychological aspects of my subject matter, to surround myself with the soundtrack of music that will be a major component in this story. I want to live in this world I'm making so it becomes reality to me, and, as a result, will be a reality to the people who read the book.

The emphasis must be on the process rather than the product.

One of the perks of being menopausal is the tendency to wake very early in the morning. Instead of lying in bed, tossing and turning, I'm looking at this time of wakefulness as a gift, a sign that there's something I'm meant to be doing, so I'm getting up and doing it.  I've set a manageable goal - 30 minutes of actual writing on the novel each morning, first thing with my coffee when I'm at my most creative, and before the distractions of news or Facebook or dogs can deter me.  Any time during the remainder of the day, usually in the latter part of the mornings and afternoons, is for researching,  reading pertaining to the novel, or other writing (blogging or articles for ATG).

Will every day be easy? Will the words always flow in a direct line from my brain through my pen and onto the page? Certainly not.

But there is time. There really is.

It's expanding all around me.

How about you? Do you feel as if you have a handle on managing your writing time? Are there places you've not explored in your daily life where you could find time to write?

The Sunday Salon: Quietude, and the July Reading List

Oh my, the house is quiet. For the past two weeks we've been reveling in a visit from our son, daughter-in-law and 19 month old grandson. But now they've headed back to the extreme heat in their hometown near Dallas, and we are left to bask in the cool breezes of  our near-perfect Michigan summer.  We've traded our grandson's precious babbling for the symphony of bird song, accompanied by the rustling of leaves and the mongolian tones of our backyard chimes.

July is historically my busiest reading month. Looking back over the past 10 July's in my reading journal, I've routinely records 10 and 11 books read during this long summer month.

This year totaled only 7  (but then I'm not counting the dozen or so books I read to Connor during the time he was here. And re-read. And read again.)

Here are three of the highlights of my July reading:

The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer: This novel was bound to appeal to me, as it featured a group of young people who meet in the 70's at an arts camp and become friends for life. Their relationships criss cross in unusual ways throughout the intervening decades. Wolitzer writes of the foibles and concerns of my generation, and she does it superbly.

Tomorrow There Will be Apricots, by Jessica Sofer: This beautiful debut novel is the story of two women in New York, a widow and an almost-oprhan, each seeking love and connection, using their common love of food to bring them together. Sofer writes with elegant detail about our relationships with family  - the one we are born to and the one we find for ourselves.

One and Only, by Lauren Sandler: Billed as a "humorous, tough-minded, and honest case for being and having an only child," Sandler's book appealed to me on several fronts. Because I am not only an only child myself, but also the daughter, wife, and mother of other "singletons" (the new terminology), I naturally have a vested interest in the subject. Sandler, an only child now raising an only child of her own, is almost rabid in her defense of the one-child family.  She makes her case using more sociological and psychological research than personal examples - this is not a memoir, although her own experience informs her interest in the subject.  As a "mature" only child, one who has been caring for elderly parents for the past two decades, and now facing the perils of old age looming on my own horizon, I would have been interested to see some discussion of how singletons in my demographic are handling their status. Overall, the book was well written and researched, and inspired me to thoughtfully consider my own feelings about this very current subject.

All month long, I've been listening to Tumbleweed, by Leila Meacham, a real pot-boiler of a novel about a triumvirate of friends growing up in the Texas panhandle (circa mid 1980's to the present). I LOVE lisetning to these kinds of books - love the long story, the plot twists and turns, the relationship arcs. Impeccably read by Angele Masters, it's the kind of novel that so completely engrosses me I sometimes forget where I'm driving (and they talk about cell phones being distracting!)

So far this August, I'm completely engrossed in Sight Reading, a novel by Daphne Kalotay (author of Russian Winter). This is another guaranteed "like" for me, since the main characters are professional musicians. Kalotay has done a marvelous job of research with this novel, as she explores the complex relationships between couples and their work.

How did July shape up in your reading life?

TLC Book Tours: Stargazey Point

Eroded beaches, a non-existent tourist trade, and skyrocketing property taxes...this is what Abbie Sinclair stumbles into when she goes to Stargazey Point to recover from a traumatic event. Devastated by her own personal tragedy, Abbie thinks she has nothing left to give, but is slowly drawn into the lives of the people of Stargazey Point - the three elderly Crispin siblings and their struggle to stay in their historic beachfront home; the young, handsome architect, Cab Reynolds, who left behind a successful  career to refurbish his uncle's antique carousel; and a motley crew of children who touch Abbie's heart in a variety of ways. Before she knows it, Abbie is helping the people of Stargazey Point revitalize their dreams. In doing so, she's surprised to find her own dreams for life rekindled and even more surprised to find a place she might call home.

Author Shelly Noble's novel is an insightful, hopeful look at the way we can recover from what seems insurmountable tragedy.  I'm always impressed by the human spirit at work, and the way an ordinary group of people can achieve extraordinary things when they come together for a common goal, whatever it may be. Stargazey Point is a novel about just this kind of effort, and I was immediately drawn into the story and interested to see what would become of each character.

Stargazey Point is another perfect summer read...so grab a copy and enjoy it while there's still some summer left.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read this book.

Write On Wednesday

Yes. I'd like to.

Write, that is.

But sometimes there are things more important than writing.

Like sons and grandsons who drive over 1000 miles to visit you for almost three weeks.

So instead of writing I've been blowing bubbles and taking walks and watering the garden and looking for mushrooms and reading "welcome home mouse" and singing the "tut tut" song and looking up videos of wheels on the bus and playing cozy pillow.

Not writing.

But Living.

Experiencing.

Savoring.

The writing will wait. And when the house is quiet and the toys have all been put away for another visit in another year, there will be pages to fill from a heart that is warmer and fuller and more open than it was before.

How about you? What are you savoring these days? And how does it appear in your writing?

TLC Book Tours: City of Hope

The decade of the 1930's was difficult for everyone, but especially for young Ellie Hogan, whose beloved husband dies suddenly. She decides to leave Ireland and return to New York City, a place that holds happy memories for her. But although the Depression has changed the city she once loved, Ellie is determined to create a new life for herself. She plunges all her energy into creating a home and refuge for some of the cities many homeless people. In return, she receives more love and friendship than she ever thought possible, and begins to feel the first faint stirrings of hope and happiness once more. And then someone from the past appears, someone she thought she would never see again - and pieces of Ellie's past that she thought were long gone suddenly resurface, threatening her newfound hope for the future.

Ellie Hogan is a female character I refer to as the "teabag type" - she doesn't realize her own strength until she gets into hot water. I love stories about women who reach into their deepest selves and find their true mettle, and City of Hope is just such a story. Author Kate Kerrigan has created a admirable, inspiring character in her Ellie Hogan, a woman ahead of her time in terms of ambition and ideas - added to that is her beautiful rendering of the historical period and a likable cast of characters.

City of Hope was a fabulous addition to my historical novel library, and I'm eager to read Kerrigan's first novel Ellis Island. Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read this novel.