Years of distractions - children, divorces, jobs, life as a whole - have interfered with my efforts in creating just the right spot, the right habits, the right time to write.
Now my life is finally in a place where I 'should' be able to work this out and get something significant done. Hence this blog where I can hash out the things I am and am not successful with as I move forward towards my writing goals.
So let's start with where I am now.
I have a great writing space. I live in a small town with a downtown stretch that is only a few blocks long, but it's a charming few blocks. Several of the old ornate buildings boast two to five stories. Right in the middle of the block and right on the corner is the building where I share an office with another writer. We can afford it only because there are lots of empty offices available and the rent is cheap. We have THE corner office. It's a great space. Each of us has our own offices, we have a coat room/kitchen space and a larger space we use as a conference room for our bi-weekly critique group meetings.
That's another great writing asset thankfully in place. A great critique group. How I happened upon this wonderful group of writers is a whole story unto itself. We've been working together now for at least a year. I couldn't ask for better support than this group. They are all devoted to their writing and to helping each other become better writers.
Because I've retired, I have time to write. Well, maybe that's a bit optimistic. I'm not working a job outside of my home/farm. At home I still have a teen-aged son (Challenger) and a husband (Farm Guy). On the farm our animal populations ebbs and flows. Here in October we have dropped down to having four beef steers and two alpacas in the our pastures, one cat and one dog in the house, four laying hens (but only two are actually laying) and a literal barn full of goats. The goats overwhelm all the rest in sheer numbers and they will continue to do so throughout the winter and early spring as kids are born. All of this definitely interferes with my writing time.
In fact, this is where finding my WriteSpot dream hits the biggest wall. Time management. I have lots of excuses for all the time I don't spend in my charming, small-town office, but excuses aren't helping me finish my book. They also aren't helping me read all of the writing books, blogs, tweets, and websites that I'm so certain will direct me in making my book better. And well, that is yet another problem.
I Facebook way too much. With lots of discipline, I've managed to cut back, but keeping up with a large number of family members, friends, goat people, and writers still seems to take lots of time. And since I've heard that Twitter is a good way to network, and in the hope of having a book someday to promote, I've taken up tweeting. And now I've taken up this blog.
I know tweeting and blogging are forms of writing and any writing maybe be better than no writing. But honestly I want to finish my book. I want to revise it deeply. I want to learn and practice craft. I want to make writing a bigger part of my every day life. It's time! I can feel it. But getting into the WriteSpot has been hard.
So, if you're reading this and you have suggestions, hints, and/or observations along the way, jump right in and leave a comment.
I'm looking forward to using this space to examine all aspects of my writing life and explore ways to make it what I've always dreamed it could be.
