GETTING BEHINDER AND BEHINDER
I am a writer ... okay, yes, I am a teacher, by trade, but if I were asked to name my dream job, I would answer unequivocally, "I WANNA BE A FULL TIME WRITER!!"
They (whoever "they" is) would then point out that the use of wanna is really not at all appropriate in the very esteemed career of writer, and I would promptly reply, "Whatever!"
I have been working on a book for the past ... oh gosh! I can't even remember! Perhaps, it's been three years now. Or possibly four. I'm not altogether sure, but I've been working on it. Sometimes slaving over it .... laboriously ...
At other times, flows from my brain, into my finger tips, and out onto the keyboard. It's a beauty to behold on those days.
Life, however, keeps getting in the way. I find that those days I'm really itching to get at it ... when my characters are practically screaming in my head to get theirs thoughts, feelings, and actions down on paper, I have this little complication called BEING A TEACHER that always seems to get in the way.
If it's not endless reams of paper to grade, then it's an insidious, overwhelming need to sleep that seems to cloud my brain ... stopping up the muscles in my fingers. And here I sit, with a manuscript yet to be completed.
Lately, my father and mother's gentle pleadings of, "when are you going to finish just one thing?" have turned into, "We really want to see SOMETHING of yours published before we die!"
My incredibly patient friend, Carrie, has been my first read through girl! She's a trooper, because she's been reading this thing, chapter by chapter for close to a year now. I will get into a flurry of writing and send her 10 chapters, and then the poor girl goes for months with out reading anything. Then another flurry of chapters ... it's crazy! It's insane, and it's going to stop.
So, I have a plan. I need my faithful blog-lurkers' help, however.
I have three weeks of luxurious spring break, beginning tomorrow at 3:20:02 p.m. (the seconds included is the approximate time it will take my sixth graders to sprint from my room screaming, "we're free! The hellish scourge that is our language arts teacher has finally freed us from her evil grasp!'). Among many, many Spring Break home projects, tops on my list is to FINISH THIS BOOK! Come hell or high water ...
I need you, faithful blog-lurkers, to give me not so subtle prodding during these next three weeks. Drop me a line in a comment (they go automatically to my email). They could be something like, "HEY! YOU! YEAH, YOU WITH THE DUST RAG IN YOUR HAND. DROP THE PLEDGE CAN AND GO TO YOUR COMPUTER AND WRITE! NOW!"
If I get enough people nagging me, perhaps I will feel the pressure to complete my Great American Novel. You see, I work best under pressure. Drove my mother crazy when I was in school. If she were given a timeline of a very large research paper to do, she would start writing months in advance. Meanwhile, I would wait until the very last second (no use of hyperbole intended here) to write the sucker and then come up with some of the most profound and monumental drivel you could possibly imagine! Brilliance under pressure.
So what do you say, blog land? Are you with me? Will you nag me AD NAUSEUM?
They (whoever "they" is) would then point out that the use of wanna is really not at all appropriate in the very esteemed career of writer, and I would promptly reply, "Whatever!"
I have been working on a book for the past ... oh gosh! I can't even remember! Perhaps, it's been three years now. Or possibly four. I'm not altogether sure, but I've been working on it. Sometimes slaving over it .... laboriously ...
At other times, flows from my brain, into my finger tips, and out onto the keyboard. It's a beauty to behold on those days.
Life, however, keeps getting in the way. I find that those days I'm really itching to get at it ... when my characters are practically screaming in my head to get theirs thoughts, feelings, and actions down on paper, I have this little complication called BEING A TEACHER that always seems to get in the way.
If it's not endless reams of paper to grade, then it's an insidious, overwhelming need to sleep that seems to cloud my brain ... stopping up the muscles in my fingers. And here I sit, with a manuscript yet to be completed.
Lately, my father and mother's gentle pleadings of, "when are you going to finish just one thing?" have turned into, "We really want to see SOMETHING of yours published before we die!"
My incredibly patient friend, Carrie, has been my first read through girl! She's a trooper, because she's been reading this thing, chapter by chapter for close to a year now. I will get into a flurry of writing and send her 10 chapters, and then the poor girl goes for months with out reading anything. Then another flurry of chapters ... it's crazy! It's insane, and it's going to stop.
So, I have a plan. I need my faithful blog-lurkers' help, however.
I have three weeks of luxurious spring break, beginning tomorrow at 3:20:02 p.m. (the seconds included is the approximate time it will take my sixth graders to sprint from my room screaming, "we're free! The hellish scourge that is our language arts teacher has finally freed us from her evil grasp!'). Among many, many Spring Break home projects, tops on my list is to FINISH THIS BOOK! Come hell or high water ...
I need you, faithful blog-lurkers, to give me not so subtle prodding during these next three weeks. Drop me a line in a comment (they go automatically to my email). They could be something like, "HEY! YOU! YEAH, YOU WITH THE DUST RAG IN YOUR HAND. DROP THE PLEDGE CAN AND GO TO YOUR COMPUTER AND WRITE! NOW!"
If I get enough people nagging me, perhaps I will feel the pressure to complete my Great American Novel. You see, I work best under pressure. Drove my mother crazy when I was in school. If she were given a timeline of a very large research paper to do, she would start writing months in advance. Meanwhile, I would wait until the very last second (no use of hyperbole intended here) to write the sucker and then come up with some of the most profound and monumental drivel you could possibly imagine! Brilliance under pressure.
So what do you say, blog land? Are you with me? Will you nag me AD NAUSEUM?
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