1. When I say, "Just give me ten-twenty minutes. I'll be right in," it really means, "I'll be writing for the next several hours because I can't fight the muse and I'll probably need you to drag me to bed at some point."
2. When I say, "I just got feedback from my critique partners," he hears, "You know that movie we were going to watch tonight? Umm, can we postpone it for an hour so I can read what my critique partners thought about that last chapter?"
3. When I say, "I feel so close to the end. I just want to work on it until I can type THE END," he knows he'll come out later and find me playing The Sims3.
4. When I say, "One more round of revisions, and I think I'll be set," he knows I really mean, "I'm down to the last five rounds of revisions, but I may decide to rewrite it completely at the end of the month."
5. When I say, "I'm gonna start querying next week," he hears, "Buckle up, Buster!" and gets ready to join me on yet another writerly roller-coaster.
Here's a shout out to all the spouses of writers out there who continue to be supportive (for the most part) and help us maintain balance when we're crazy. And especially thanks to my husband, without whom I wouldn't even be giving my writing a shot.
Thanks, Bill, for all the weekends you let me sleep in because you knew I had a writing hangover. Our kids appreciate it, too. :)
We all have our muses, but who are the people in your life who balance that out and keep you grounded in the joys of reality? Feel free to give them a shout-out in the comments!
15 comments:
Haha.. this was great. I'm lucky that my spouse is not just encouraging and supportive, but he's also an artist and has the same tendencies. When we collide in our zones we sit for hours side by side on our laptops and crunch away - me writing and him either programming music or writing code for video games. We eat a lot of take out during those times.
Also, love the picture!
AWWWWWW. This is the most adorable post ever. <3 I am definitely holding out for a guy who understands these things, too!
I just e-mailed this to my husband. So true!
Steph, that sounds awesome! I love that you guys support each other that way.
Becky, thank you! And yes, definitely hold out. It'll be worth it. :)
Tara, I'm smiling right now. Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad it resonates with you two.
LOL my husband OUGHT to know that by now, but he still forgets.
This is awesome. But here's what my family understands about me being a writer: nothing. I don't talk about it.
Great post! Your husband sounds great! And Matthew, I feel sad about your family, but I understand, since no one in my family wanted me to be a writer.
I get so happy and excited when I see creative people reaching for their dreams. Especially when they can do it with that balance that makes life real, i.e. family, or people you can call family that you are committed to. We would have no reason to write/create without real people and experiences to do it for and about. (I'm not a writer, I just support one or two, but I do love reading).
My hubby also gets annoyed when I'm so busy writing that I won't get up to let the cat inside or outside--but I will yell from my office, "The cat wants out/in!" so he can do it. Wouldn't do for the poor kitty to experience delayed gratification!
Katrina, this is awesome :) The picture is adorable as well. My best friend--the one who's an illustrator--knows me this well. We were roommates last fall, and she went to bed hours before I did because I was working on revisions. It really was a blessing to have her around to keep me going and stop me from playing minesweeper (she deleted it off my computer a couple times...lol)
So where can I find a guy like this? Do they sell them on Amazon?
@Tiffany: lol what a good friend to delete minesweeper for you...
One word...awesome! :D
Aw, you look like a princess. Great post too.
What about writer's wives?
I would just like to add that playing the Sims3 is invalubale reserach. I use it to get a visual on houses in my stories or my characters. It's not my fault it's one of the greatest games ever...lol
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