Calm, Cool, and Collected

As I navigate the fascinating waters of the fiction writing world, I am reminded that some days will be more productive than others.  Some days, other things might have to take precedence over writing.  Things like:  family illness, emergencies, maintaining a home.  There’s also the less imperative demands:  grocery shopping and meal prep (I haven’t mastered the art of nose twitching yet), laundry to wash (for some reason the dirty clothes won’t just hop into the washer and dryer themselves), dusting, toilet cleaning, car servicing, and a host of others.

I am learning to write through various demands and time constraints.  I’m discovering that, for me anyway, routine is key. 

I utilize the morning hours typically for writing because that’s when I’m at my best.  In the afternoon I might have to dedicate time to some of the other demands mentioned above.  Later in the day, I focus on cranking out words once again, and during nighttime hours, I’ve been known to reach for a notebook or hit the keyboard if inspiration strikes.  I’ve told my husband that, unless a tornado hits, he shouldn’t be alarmed if I’m not in bed when he wakes up.  (Don’t laugh.  Our little neck of the woods has been hit twice in seven years with many close calls in between.)

When I’m approached regarding other various time-busters, I put more thought into my answer now than I used to a few years ago.  An automatic yes doesn’t just fly past my tongue when I’m asked to do something, go somewhere, or be at a particular function.

Increasingly, I’m finding that I have to use that dreaded word– “no.”  I would prefer not to.  I’m a positive person, so I don’t like to think or say negative things, but I realize, too, that I can’t be superwoman the way I used to and still do my primary job, which is to write.

I might have to decline a coffee date, a lunch invitation, or a get-together with friends.  I may have to gently pass with regard to serving on a committee.  And I’m sorry, but the phone isn’t my best friend.  I love to talk, but I just can’t spend hours doing it on the telephone.  (To all who love me…please don’t be upset!)

I’ve vowed to stay calm, cool, and collected as things begin to fall into place with my writing career.  Wow!  That sounds a bit unrealistic even to me.  But I’m sure going to try. 

I wonder if I should keep a life jacket close by just in case…

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A question for you to ponder (and one I’d really like to know the answer to)…Have you mastered the art of saying “no”?