Bits & Pieces

My fellow writer Brian and I were talking the other day, and got on a discussion about writing down thoughts and pieces of ideas on scraps of paper.  If you are a writer, I’m sure you also have many of them scattered around in files, drawers, journals, pockets, bags, etc.   

He told me a story about a man that finally decided to go through those scraps and old files and came upon a story he had written long ago.  As he began to read the story he decided it was absolutely terrible and threw it away.  His wife happened to see it and pulled it out of the trash to read.  She came to him saying how good she thought it was and that he should try to get it published.  At first this high school history teacher balked, but then chose to trust his wife’s instinct and submitted the story.     

The rest they say is history, as this high school history teacher, Stephen King, was able to get the manuscript he threw away, Carrie, published.   

We continued to talk about the times we too have thought things not worthy of keeping, and also of the times we grabbed the paper, scribbled down bits of thoughts and swore it was the best thing yet, only to re-read it later and ask, “What was I thinking?”  We both agree however, that no matter how bad it may have turned out, there was a deep core passion that shone through for a moment and needs to be nurtured.  Maybe not that exact message or wording, but it should be saved - there may be a bit or piece that is the basis for something great!   

Now we may not all end up as well known as Stephen King, but you can never truly know how your writing may affect others.  It may just be bits and pieces of what we write that touch’s another person; sometimes it is the small things that matter most.  Think of those scraps of ideas as puzzle pieces yet to be connected- save them, relish them, but keep them far from the trash.  And if you do have the urge to throw something away, at least let someone else read it first, you never know, you may have a piece of history there.  

P.S  Are you a fellow writer?  (Remember, even if you only have bits & pieces, you are still a writer!)  I invite you to join me as a “friend” on Facebook!  Just log on to www.facebook.com and type in Marie Boyum- click to be my friend (:

 

 © March 27,2008 Marie Boyum

 

Reactions

How many times have you been asked what you do and have had the courage to say “writer?”

I say courage because there are times I have seen the eyes roll, and the judgment hang in the air like the smell of a rotten egg on a hot sidewalk.  “So you don’t really work,” I once had someone say.  “No, I don’t consider it work,” I said, although I knew it was meant to be a put-down, I meant it to be a great thing.  Then there are those that fane happiness for you; all the while they secretly hate you for doing what you love, because maybe they wish they also had the courage to follow their dream.  

Polls have shown that 81% of Americans say they’d like to write a book.  Unfortunately, the polls don’t list the percentage that only got that far and then spew the litany of excuses to prevent themselves from doing it.  Beginning is often the hardest part- staring at the blank page and forming it into words that flow from your gut.   

Everyone can easily make the excuses of no time, I have bills to pay; the odds are against me, and on, and on.  I believe everything boils down to two things in life, love and fear.  If we create from a loving space within, it can only be good and do well.  It is when we allow fear to freeze us up like a dish of water left outside in a Wisconsin winter that stops our creativity (and us in general) cold.   

What is your reaction when you hear someone say they are a writer?  Do feel envious?  Do you think, ‘must be nice!’ or do you find the time to go to your keyboard and start writing, because if they can do it, so can you?  Although you may not think of it as work, any writer will tell you it is, but it is the reaction you have to what you know you want to do that makes it hard or a joy, a dream, or a reality.   

What are your reactions to these thoughts?  I’d love to hear from you!

 ©  March 18, 2008 Marie Boyum 

On Being Idle

I just got through reading a very interesting book from a British writer Tom Hodgkinson, entitled, How To Be Idle.  Although he made some wonderful points, it might be a book only a writer can truly relate to.  With chapters such as, Waking Up is Hard to Do, The Death of Lunch, The Nap, and On Being Ill, just to name a few, he speaks of the importance of doing nothing, laying in bed until late in the day, and how busy people miss so much.   

As I say, he makes many good points, although I cannot say I agree with all of his commentaries; I can see how someone who is not a writer would have quite the ambivalent reaction to being so sloth.  Who wouldn’t want to spend most of the day observing, resting, thinking, and taking long lunches?  In today’s (and according to the author, especially American) society, most people feel the need to be busy or they feel they may lose.  Lose that big break, lose time, lose the opportunity, and lose the job…  

As a writer, there is great merit in losing.  Losing the busy schedule so we can observe, contemplate our thoughts, and create.  For those choosing to not use the creative side of their brain, it may appear as if we are too freely lounging, sipping tea (or coffee), and making up stories to fill our day.  Anyone who does write for a living, or even for their own enjoyment knows, there is much labor to those well thought out words placed in just the right order to best convey our thoughts - and that takes some contemplation.   

Those of you that know me, know I love quotes and here is one I think sums it all up. 

“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought.  There is visible labor and there is invisible labor.” – Victor Hugo  

Go be invisible…  

 © March 10, 2008 Marie Boyum

A Day In the Life of One Writer

There has been more than one time when I have been asked what my typical writing day consists of.  I have read of famous authors who talk of their strict regimen while I have also heard of other authors who only write when the mood strikes.  There are many other authors that fall in between and I can say that would best describe me.   

I am not a morning person, so those that get up early before anyone else, many times before the sun, are not writers I can relate to. I do my best work between 10 PM and 2AM.  When I do get up in the morning does depend on the previous night’s productivity level (how intense and engrossed I got into writing).  No matter when I get up, I do not even bother trying to be productive in the writing department until 10 AM.  Prior to that, I do household and puppy duties as my beloved “moose” Maynard demands my attention after a night of rest.  I take care of my “girls” (our chickens) and spend time walking outside on our property- yes, even on the nasty winter weather days we have had!  In the morning, I try to work on writing school things, leaving time for my other writing in the afternoon.  Now this is all in theory, mind you.   

One thing I know about working from home is, distractions can throw a huge monkey wrench into ones plans.  How many of you have the best intentions of writing and then notice that the pencils need sharpening, the shelf is dusty, or have a sudden need for that special type of cookie that only you can bake?  Laundry, neighbors, phone calls, children, pets, the list of distractions is endless.  Many can be very easily justified that they require our time right this minute.   

I have to say I fall victim to these (and other) distractions much easier during the day then late into the night.  By the time night comes, my husband and I have had our time together, my puppy finally crashes, the phone does not ring, no neighbors will come by, and I do not even think of rattling dishes, or starting laundry at that hour.  For me, my mind is free to release myself from my worldly duties and just dream; I am just not ready to do it while sleeping quite yet.  It is nice also because if I do not have a productive writing day, I don’t have to feel guilty, I know that there is always late at night when I can relax, sip tea, pull up a pillow behind my back, and write away.  Of course, you can flip that if you are one of those morning people, but that is my secret.    

Here are other tips that can help, if you don’t think that will work for you.  Try turning off the volume on your phone; post a sign on the door that says “at work, call after 5 PM;” give yourself a deadline and tell yourself if you had a 9-5 job in an office, you would not be able to do the laundry so it does not matter that you cannot now; and while you are envisioning that you are at the 9-5 job, remember what that was like and how much better your life is now as a writer - then write! (Or you may have to be back at that 9-5-office job!)  One of the great things about being a writer at home is you don’t have to waste precious time getting dressed; the creativity flows just as well in our “jimmies” as it does in a dress or suit and they are far less distracting!  (There aren’t many careers that can say they get to “dress for success” in that way!)  And so it goes, in this writer’s daily life…

© March 3, 2008 Marie Boyum