Bumps, Potholes, and Tsunamis along the Writer’s Way by J Vincent



For some strange reason I went to check what was up on the WARA blog this morning.  I saw Pat’s great blog from the 2nd and thought, “No one else has posted?”  Then I realized it wasn't mid-month.  In fact today is my day to blog!  I’m way too tired to check what the topic is supposed to be.  After reading Pat’s blog this is the topic that came to mind.  I know, my thought process is a little warped, or perhaps a lot twisted these days!

My writing total for August was zilch, nada, zero.  Or to the best of my memory it was.  This summer has sorely tested the will to write, let alone time to write.  First we sold our house, then a week before the closing the buyer just disappeared without telling anyone.  We were about two-thirds moved out by then and so I got to unpack a little of what I had already packed.  The house went back on the market and we soon had another contract.  As the closing neared we started to discover just how expensive selling an older house can be.  First came the radon test. An expensive radon eliminator had to be installed.  Then the septic system had to have an upgrade and a collar.  I could go on but you can see this picture and we made it to the closing.  A week after the closing we received a demand from the buyers to pay for an item we had clearly stated in writing on the house prospectus as being taken with us.  That was cleared up in an hour but rattled our cage.  As if all the packing, cleaning out, fixing up, moving into storage, moving into our son’s basement for a three month stay before moving to our next home, and the battle with AT&T U-verse over 3 cable boxes buried in a storage  unit  (another too-long story), wasn’t enough.

In the midst of all this my health issues continue.  There was the leg weakness which therapy was helping until I broke a bone in my left foot and had to wear a CAM boot for two months.  Only those of you who have been tortured by one of those boots can truly understand the discomfort.  The boot did help the foot (try packing a house up while in one!) and cured the sciatica on my left side but threw off my stride and worsened the problems on my right to the point I had to get a spinal epidural in July.  Now my doctors have scheduled some kind of test for my right leg later this month to see if all the problems aren’t caused by permanent nerve damage.  There were also the flare ups of lung infections par the course and two cataract surgeries thrown in for good measure.  It has been a perfect storm of bumps, potholes, minor mountains and low valleys.

Why am I telling you this in a writing blog?  Because no matter what hits you--a wave in the face or a tsunami, it will come to an end.  Things will go back to “normal.”  The human spirit is resilient.  We’ve only been here in our son’s (very nice) basement a little over a week but already my mind has turned back to writing.  Not full-force by any means as there are still too many other details meddling with my time but a start none the less.  I’ve managed to read a book that has given me a leg up on setting and timing.  I am determined to prove Cherry Adair wrong.  I went to her writing seminar in May in KC and got a lot of good ideas.  But she said if you’ve thought about or worked on a book for more than 6 months and not finished it, you should throw it out.  Book Five of the Honour series has been stewing a lot long than that!  I’m much more a proponent of all things in their time, which usually isn’t our time. Here’s hoping you’ve had smoother sailing than I this summer and wishes for a great writing fall!

9 comments:

Pat Davids said...

WARA should send you flowers. What a summer you've had.

But you are so right, no matter how bad things get, a new normal eventually emerges and we can get back to thinking about the people and stories in our heads.

And I'm with you, Cherry is off on that score. No matter how long a story has stayed in your head, only you can give it life.

Anonymous said...

Uh,If our very dear Cherry Adair was correct, then my first novel, indeed all of my writing would never have happened. For you see, I thought of my story for over 30 years before a culmination of odd happenings determined a course of action hitherto completely un-thought before. Hence, perhaps for Ms. Adair, inaction is no action, for others, not so cut and dried.

What a summer you have had. I hope for a better fall for you. I completely sympathise with the weirdness of home sales. My dad left his home sale in my lap after he'd contacted a realtor. I ended up having to have a couple of outlets rewired, they were upside down, and other stuff before the sale could be completed.

Joan Vincent said...

Pat,thanks for stopping by. It was one helluva summer. May nothing like it come my way ever again. I'm hoping my son's very steep long stairs will end up strengthening my legs and solve that problem. And having few of the normal distractions and interruptions will help the writing. A win win.

Joan Vincent said...

Nina, good "seeing" you. I could tell you tales of selling a house--too bad I write in the 19th century when they hadn't heard of codes!
Adair has a formula for plotting and writing that produce books in a very short period of time. Different strokes or writing styles for different folks. I think whatever works for you is best.

Rox Delaney said...

There's one distinction Cherry didn't mention. Thinking about a book for several years isn't the same as writing it. And many people do spend more time on their first book, learning along the way. Not everyone can jot off a book in a few weeks. ;)

Rox Delaney said...

Joan, I'm so glad things are beginning to settle into a new routine. I hate change and will fight it to the death. That doesn't mean I don't eventually accept the change, somewhere along the way.

Moving is such a pain. We moved 4 times in 2 years after my divorce. I often think of moving somewhere new, but never get far with it, before I remember how awful it can be.

Nina Sipes said...

We don't have any codes here. Can you imagine that?
One thing moving will do for you. Concentrate and focus on your here and now.
Too true, thinking about writing isn't the same as writing. The thoughts don't fit the same or logic goes begging or something. Wow. That was definitive.

Joan Vincent said...

Rox, I think Cherry was going for the person who spends their whole life writing and rewriting the same book.
Moving is awful--a perfect word for it. At least it did help me eject a great deal of stuff. After living so simply for 6 months I'll hopefully be in the habit of it.

Joan Vincent said...

Nina, I'd have given a lot to be in a "no code" world! Some codes seem to exist solely for people to make money from.