Weekends Away From Writing and Resisting The Muse

I've mentioned here that I become so engrossed in the writing that I rarely take time to see friends. This weekend, I barely turned the computer on, and I'm quite proud of myself. It's essential to keep our feet on the ground, to claw our way out of our heads for a time, and I did this most successfully.

You've probably gathered (by the very omission of such things here and on my Twitter) that I don't much care for shopping, or chit-chat, or messing aimlessly about. I always seem to have something far more important to do than waste time on what I perceive as frivolous pursuits.

Part of this is because I'm getting much older. Time is beginning to grow shorter. No doubt you rarely think about rationing time, because it appears - for a lot of you - to be an endless resource, stretching so far into the future that there's no need to consider it. I'm of an age where I'm finally beginning to value it.

If I'm to be a published writer, I'll need a lot more books under my belt to prove I'm not a one-off. This means dedication to the craft, once and for all. I spent a lot of years working the 9-5 thing, raising kids (alone), then did some goofing around, travelling, chasing men, messing about on boats - like that, as we do when we're single. It's time to work for me now, to put all that experience into the writing. Tempus Fugit. Carpe Diem!

But...this weekend...well, it was lovely, spent with a couple of women friends, doing womanly things like mall-browsing, thrift-shopping, strolling, lunching at a restaurant beside the waters of Lake Ontario (still a bit frozen, but the sun was so warm we ate out on the deck). We collected a new puppy for a friend, and it did all the usual puppy things on the back seat. We reversed the car into a storm ditch, sideways, so that it teetered on two rocks over a couple of feet of water on the passenger side - my side. I had to crawl up into the driver's seat to get out - legs all awry and briefly strung over the steering wheel, before I emerged. You know, the usual weekend stuff.

And to think I usually spend my weekends hunched over the computer.

You may well ask why the car ended up semi-dangling over the tiny creek, but first appreciate that it needed a rescue vehicle, with serious lifting machinery, to get it out. In fact it was the puppy's performance in the back that distracted the driver. She was reversing, and then saw her ruined back seat upholstery. She was a bit upset at that. She was even more upset with the ditching.

If socializing weekends are all like this, I'll do more of them. I had no idea...


Perhaps you noticed, again, my postscript on Friday's blog, that I received a request for another partial of Hafan Deg. I responded that I believe the thirty-day exclusive on the full I sent out last week means no submissions, partial or otherwise, and I would be in touch when I know what's happening. I also took my three-chapter link to the MS down. Heather tells me that's probably not necessary. Does anyone know for sure?


There's a new, pretty face following me. My daughter, Sienna, became my 28th follower. She and her partner live in Australia, in a small piece of paradise on the north coast of New South Wales, pretty close to self-sufficient in their green way of life. They grow most of what they need, barter for the rest, provide sanctuary for injured or orphaned wild animals, and produce a wonderful magazine, Vegan Voice, which is dedicated to educating the world about the urgent need to end animal farming. (Sienna's editorials are a particularly delightful read.) I am very proud of her and I'm pleased to see her following me.

My other daughter, Kim, also follows me, but she admits to little time spent actually reading my posts. That's okay. I understand. It's just nice to know she's there as well. Of course, neither one of my sons follows me. Men!