Writing is my happy place

It’s been a rough week here.  The weather has been hot.  The thunderstorms have been numerous.  The dogs hate thunderstorms only marginally more than I do.  Not to mention the weather systems have been battling each other, causing everyone with arthritis to suffer.

Needless to say, I haven’t always been sleeping well this last week.  I think I got four hours last night.  The old dog has serious arthritis in his hips when the weather is like this.  He needed some care last night.  The rest of the week has been warm, and when the old dog has been fine, it’s been my guy.  He also has some arthritis, and had a few bad nights.

I woke today thinking “I may not get a lot done, but I’m still going to give it my best go.”  What actually happened was that I did my morning routine, admittedly with a shortened walk for the dog, and sat at my computer.  When it came time to type, the words started a little choppy, then they just flowed.  I got over 2000 words in little over an hour.  

Why?  I credit my writing wakeup routine.  Having the habit gets me ready to write.  Keeping pressure off myself is useful, too.  In this heat, I tend to take more breaks and spread the work out over the day more.  Still, I do the writing first, then editing later.  By keeping my writing at the front, my routine is fresh in my mind and ingrained.  When I have a bad night, it doesn’t affect me as badly.  When I sit down to type, my body and mind know what is expected of me.  Typing happens.  Creativity happens.

I also found I wanted to sit and write.  On these hot days, when the rest of my schedule has been disrupted, I still want to write.  I enjoy sitting at my desk and letting the ideas flow.  Because I write the books I want to read, I look forward to finding out what happens next.  Will it be good?  Not always in the character’s eyes, but those moments still reveal moments that are worth having.

Now, this time as I write the sequel, my characters don’t always want to behave.  Sometimes they take me down new paths I wasn’t expecting.  Do I like the path?  Does it have possibilities?  Then I’ll see where it goes.  That’s half the fun.  It happened with the first novel, too.

I’m getting close to done my third draft of the first novel!  Soon it’ll be ready and I can share it with everyone.  Most exciting, I’ll have my very own copy that I can page through and read again and again, just like my other favourite books.  When it’s done, I’ll go back to the martial arts book I’ve got on the go, too.  The sequel demanded to be written first, so until the first novel is done, the martial arts book is waiting.

​So many stories to write, so little time!