My alarm goes off at five. I get up. Flip on the coffee, stumble to the computer, and blink myself awake while the computer hums through its startup. I read a little of my work from the previous day and begin to fall into the clicking rhythm of creation.
When the coffee burbles, I go fill a mug and find my daughter standing in the hallway.
“Daddy, I’m scared,†she says. “Can you lay with me?â€
There are two kinds of writer’s block. Internal blocks and external.
I have external writer’s blocks. One of them is five years old.
Read the rest of this post at Writer …Interrupted, where you’ll also find more details about the following five tips:
1. Stop expecting words to make money.
2. Let your family be your readers.
3. Be disciplined about your gift.
4. Talk to your kids about your writing time.
5. Don’t make an idol of your writing . . . or your children.
{ 18 comments }
You are so wise, you know? Really, I mean that. (You must be a writer.
I’m not very good with compliments like that, L.L.
Of course, I want to be wise. I think that’s a good thing to want. But ultimately, I think I’m too quick to speak. It helps with blogging, but I’m not so sure it helps with wisdom.
At any rate, I’ll take it as an indication that you liked the post.
Alot of good wisdom there, Mark. Worth marking!
Funny. I have never thought of the kids as little Writer’s Blocks, but they certainly can be!
Tina, thanks for the comment. I don’t know if it is good to joke about my kids being writer’s blocks because it reduces them to a problem. But certainly they can be at times.
Other times they are sweet interruptions (like you said on your blog) who remind us that the most intimate kind of communication always occurs in real life in real families with God’s blessing.
Everything else is just an approximation.
Ted, you’re just not making this easy for me. : )
Yes, definitely worth Marcing.
Little writer’s blocks… is that a term of endearment for a writer’s kids?
What a thoughtful post. Funny thing about writing . . . it sure seems like a calling, but so do a lot of other things I do. If I’m really called to all of these things, then somehow they’ve got to work together. My friends and family have become my readers, my critics, my writing group — even though they aren’t writers; I picked a schedule at my day job that gives my a couple of hours day when I’m actually alert to write (I’m not really a morning person or a night person — more of an afternoon type). The ministries I’m involved with often reveal topics to write about, and I use my writing abilities to create snazzy handouts, fun emails, etc.
These thoughts seemed so related to your post until I reread them. I think this is part of what you’re saying here — as much as we love to write, it’s got to work with all the other parts of our lives to be viable.
Thanks, Mark!
I’ve found that some of the most productive writing times for me are at three in the morning. I have insomnia anyway, and I’ll often wake up and have ideas in my head that keep me awake unless I get up and write them all out. I may or may not be able to get back to bed after that, and often it wipes me out the next day, but it at least provides me with quiet, uninterrupted writing time to get stuff down that can be revised and polished later.
John Grisham wrote his first books at four or five in the morning, longhand on yellow legal pads, and then go to the courthouse and practice law all day because he was still a working lawyer. Ken Taylor translated what would become the Living Bible during his daily train commutes from Wheaton to Chicago. Whenever or wherever works for you.
I remember once working under a tight deadline to write an article about the need to spend time with your children. I had to steal scheduled family time to finish the article, and while writing, I ended up fussing at my kids because they kept pestering me to play with them. Oh, the irony!
A writer’s life is such a balancing act. One I’ve never mastered. I finally had to give up and ask God to help me understand what he wants me to do when conflicting calls converge.
I just leaned over to kiss one of my little writer’s blocks who is chattering to my left. We writers need these distractions sometimes, if only to keep us human.
Ahhhh! You guys are so wonderful I can’t keep up.
Craver, hilarious pun. I was wondering if Ted intended it or not.
Charity, your thoughts are definitely in line with this post. They remind me of somethings I’ve read about living a centered life vs. living a balanced life. Balance is a zero-sum way of thinking. I balance the things I choose to do with my time. Family time gets balanced with writing time, etc. A centered life is more about living in the moment and staying focused on where God wants us to be. Sure, there are still the moments when I type alone at the computer or when I go away to work in the office. But things blend a little more flexibly.
One day my writing time may be the puppet show my daughter and I create together. One day we may write a poem together. I try to involve every part of my life with every other–in ways that make sense of course. And I try (desperately sometimes) to keep my life centered on honoring God in all that I do.
Al, I love how practical your comment is. I don’t know any writer who has every admitted that their late night writing spells wipe them out the next day. Why do we insist on presenting this facade that we whittle off books when other people sleep–because we are super human or something?
You know, Sir Philip Sidney talked about Sprezzatura–the art of making things look easy so the reader never knows how much work you do. I think he’s talking about how writing should flow smoothly. But we try to apply it to our entire lives and we create this false identity of perfection.
Patrick, so what does God say when you have conflicting calls?
L.L., and I went sledding (in South Texas!) with my two writer’s blocks yesterday. On the sun visor from our car. Hey, it worked.
Golly. Never thought of that. I guess they probably don’t stock up on sleds in Texasland!!
We prefer the phrase “Republic of Texas.”
God bless Texas!
>Patrick, so what does God say when you have conflicting calls?
“Go do what I want you to do, and I’ll figure out what to do about the rest.” And every so often, I’m even obedient enough to give him a shot.
I think you answered the question with living a centered vs. a balanced life. Despite may years of effort, I’ve found a balanced life to be a quixotic pursuit. A centered life is attainable; it just requires a enormous amount of trust.
Someone who lives a centered life understands that an hour of sledding with his children can have as great an impact on the world as another hour of writing.
Comments on this entry are closed.