The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 175 - A Taste of the Writing Life

I was a Southern house wife this week. One of my friends from high school is an IT consultant, and his job takes him all over the east coast, with an emphasis on the South. He'll be in Charleston, SC until July. Originally, I thought I was going to have to fly out to LA this week for meetings. When it became obvious that wouldn't happen, because we don't have enough meetings lined up for me yet, I decided to leave the time off that I'd already put in for at work and go out of town anyway.


The result was a small taste of what it would be like to be a professional writer. (Mind you, I make the comparison here in the loosest way.) I had to wake up early to drive my friend to work so that I could have the rental car during the day. Dropped him off at the office, "Good bye, honey - have a nice day!" Then back to the hotel, most likely to take a nap; 7:30am is just not a good writing hour for me. Frankly, it's not a good anything hour for me. Except sleeping.


Nap time ended around 9 or 10, at which point I'd stimulate the creative parts of my brain with a little Netflix instawatching. I've always found that watching a movie - or, actually, and awards show, like the Oscars - can be one of the best ways to spark a desire to write. Seeing what others have done makes me want to be a part of the scene, and I try my hardest to accomplish my own work so that I might join them one day. Once the movie was done, it was time to write.


Onyx took a look at my first act. These were the first pages I'd written in about six months, so even though I was rusty, it was nice to have them out there. I'll admit I'm trying to do a lot within the first act, and Onyx pointed out a few beats that could be stronger or that might be necessary to help achieve my goals. Despite the great feedback, I decided to keep on pushing ahead. Right now, I'd like to just get the whole draft out there, and then I can see what needs to be set up either earlier or more completely. I didn't get as many new pages done over the break as I would have liked, but I cranked out over 10, which is still nothing to scoff at.


Once I was done writing each day, I'd work out a bit, then maybe throw on another movie. By the time all that was said and done, it was time to pick my buddy up from the office - "How was your day? Were the other employees nice to you?" It was a little different from being a full-time writer from home, primarily because I stuck around the hotel for the most part. At home, I'd be able to venture out and get a lot of other errands done. Still, it was a nice taste of what might be one day.