Someone stole an hour from me this morning....not nice, people...not nice at all *ahem* I guess I better go fix all my clocks now - although some of them are finally right since I never changed them last time daylight savings rolled around LOL
Anyhow, in the midst of all this NaNo0ing, blog posting, revising, rewriting, new writing, critting, making fun swag for my book release, sweating over when my galleys are going to show up, and all the other fun/crazy/sometimes stressful stuff that goes along with being a writer, I got to thinking....
Despite it all, I love being a writer!
Though it definitely comes with its nutbag of occupational hazards.
For instance:
The older I get, the more I find I have to write things down immediately, so there are strange little notes all over my house. Like “break up after the pallbearer fight” (that one prompted my husband to ask if we were splitting up and if so, why would we split over pallbearers) or “100 year old skeletons could still have hair” (which made my poor husband ask if I was hiding a body somewhere that he should know about).
It’s going to take years of therapy to get me over the roller coaster of the writing and revision process…and the querying and submission process…and the publication process and marketing process…and…well, you get the point…
I need a lifetime membership to Weight Watchers since I live off of chocolate and goldfish crackers when writing.
I tend to scare perfect strangers because I can’t stop staring at them and muttering to myself (in my defense, the guy looked EXACTLY like one of the characters in my book, but he had a cool scar on his forehead that I wanted to incorporate and I didn’t want to forget so I was leaving myself a mental note…out loud…’cause that helps me remember :D )
I’m constantly afraid Social Services is going to take my kids away since I haven’t cleaned the house in a month and give them cereal for dinner every night. They DO have clean clothes though…they just have to dig them out of a basket or one of the piles on the couch….
But all in all, the joys of being a writer far outweigh any of the *coughcough* side effects :)
What are some of your occupational hazards? Do the joys of what you do make up for any of the less joyful bits? Do people think you are crazy stalker just because you plan on using their look or personality in your next book? :D
Shouldn't you have gained an hour??
ReplyDeleteI see people who look like my characters, too! Only I don't think the people I write about would shoot me such strange looks. ;D
ReplyDeleteWhether you gain an hour or lose one depends on whether you're a morning or evening person... It makes zero difference to me.
ReplyDeleteWe're writers. We chose the crazy life. *insane cackle*
ReplyDeleteHee hee. Thanks for the honest and refreshing post. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my insanity.
yep it's that way here too. the kids and the wife sometimes suffer when i am in writer mode.....which usually happens about everyday. early morning and late evening.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good one - I have many of the same occupational hazards - especially notes all over the place. (I've even accidentally written stuff down on invoices and such for the family business - I think my mil thought I was looney the time it was something about my MC batting her eyes.) Another one would be writer's rear. Not sure how to keep that one from happening, though. Also, we look at the time change a little differently, loving the fact that we get to sleep in and still technically wake up "early". ;)
ReplyDeleteJessica
Hi Michelle - good to know that I'm not the only one who leaves my daughter to dig through a mountain of clean clothes on the couch for an outfit! :) (which reminds me, I serioulsy need to do some laundry today...)
ReplyDeletePretty new to your blog, so congrats on your upcoming book release! That's awesome!! Would love to see pics of that "cool swag".
And an occupational hazard of an aspiring writer? Daydreaming. It's totally messing with my time management skills...
lol confession - I wrote this post last night and for some reason thought I was losing an hour...till I woke up at what I thought was 7:30 this morning and realized it was only 6:30 and that I'd gained an hour LOL
ReplyDeleteMy apologies to the daylight savings people *but I'll be grouching at you come spring...just sayin'*
Hmm...thankfully my kids are out of the house, so I don't have THOSE guilt issues. But my horses whinny at me when I step outside, wondering if I'm ever going to ride them again, or untangle the dreadlocks from their manes. I'm a BAADD horse mommy :(
ReplyDeleteMy scrapbooking and costuming projects gather dust in the corners, along with all the piles of 'stuff' that seems to accumulate overnight.
I wouldn't even eat right if it wasn't for my gem of a hubby.
So, yeah, to the outsider, a writer looks like someone in the deepest depths of depression. And if they talk to us, and we bring up the characters living in our heads, I'm sure they think we're insane and need to be committed!
Here's to insanity - I've never been happier!
LOL! I hear ya! I often feel guilty for not cleaning more, or yelling at kids to chill out when I should be paying more attention to them. But one day they'll appreciate their mom's a writer. (hopefully)
ReplyDeleteNot that I have a choice. Not like I can just ... stop.
I'm trying to learn to make those mental notes-to-self silently, but it's not going well. I remember much better when I talk out loud to myself. Kinda scares folks though!
ReplyDeleteLOL! LOVE this post! Obsession is my occupational hazard. Once focused on a particular project, I eat, sleep, breathe it...there CAN be too much of a good thing. ;)
ReplyDelete