The Period of Rest

This may possibly be the worst time to be blogging daily because after all the deadlines over the last month, I’m all worded out. I sat down to write a few e-mails today, put together two sentences, and then decided I just needed to drink four cups of tea instead.

An artist friend came over to dinner the other day and we were talking about creative highs and lows. She said she’d had some really good days of painting, followed by a week where she didn’t even want to enter her studio, let alone pick up a paintbrush. Thankfully, I got most of my deadlines out of the way before the creative slump has hit.

When my friend told me about these cycles that she goes through, I didn’t think much of it. I’m a professional writer, after all. A writer-for-hire. I write pretty much every day of every week because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t make a living. But then I realized that this isn’t true. I go through weeks of hellish productivity, knocking out pieces one after the other. They’re usually pretty good, too, because I’m on a high. I’m productive. I’m prolific. And I perform.

And then I’m done. The curtain falls on my productivity and my performance and there starts the period of rest.

I’m now starting my period of rest. Of contemplation. Of silence. I’m really looking forward to it.

Ordinary Guy

It was, I guess you would say, kind of as you would expect it to be. I mean Murakami turns out to be all the way down a Murakami character. He is this kind of ordinary man who keeps a very regimented schedule and has for the last thirty years. He goes to bed at 9 o’clock, wakes up at 4 in the morning and goes straight to his desk and writes for five hours or more. And then he goes for his runs, he eats a very healthy diet, and then he goes back to sleep. And so he’ll tell you, he’s just the most ordinary guy in the world and the only time he’s special is when he’s sitting at his desk in this kind of trance of concentration and he’s writing and he thinks of it as a descent into the deepest parts of his being and he just dredges up all this strange stuff that the ordinary man has no insight into or even knowledge about.

- Sam Anderson, writer for the New York Times magazine, on being questioned about his profile of Murakami

Getting Back My Sparkle

I think I’m beginning to experience writing burnout. Four to six deadlines a week for several weeks in a row will do that to you. It’s the busiest I’ve been in my entire career and I’ve had some really busy periods over the years.

I saw this quote on Facebook recently: Don’t let anyone EVER dull your SPARKLE.

I think with all the work, work, work in my life lately, I’ve lost a bit of my sparkle. I’ve still got the silver and gold sheen, but I’m missing the glitter in my life. I’ve got two deadlines this week (today and tomorrow) but here’s how I plan to add the gold dust, that little bit extra, over the remaining few days:

I’ll be reading. I’m halfway (or more) through about eight or so books. I pick one up, get distracted, pick another up, get distracted, and so on. I’d really like to commit to a few of those books and actually finish them. (They’re all good, I’m just experiencing book-based ADD.)

I’ll be playing. With Jude. A lot. I have been already, but it’s been the distracted in-between deadlines sort of playing, which usually means I’m not fully present here or there. I intend to do a lot of fully-present playing over the next few days.

I’ll be baking. The original plan was to bake cookies for my mum on Mother’s Day, but hey, I spent the entire day resting and catching up on my sleep, so that worked out just as well. I’ll do it this week.

I’ll be watching. Movies, old TV show reruns, new TV shows. Anything that doesn’t require me to think.

I’ll be calling. Friends. The husband who’s away on business. The sister-in-law I’ve been meaning to have a long overdue conversation with. The parents-in-law who I want to Skype with.

I’ll be blogging. I know, I know, how can I be taking a break from writing if I’m… well, writing. But blogging doesn’t feel like writing. It’s not work. It’s… well, it’s blogging. It’s like catching up with a bunch of friends on a regular basis. I also I intend to get back to reading all the blogs I haven’t been able to check out lately.

And of course, I’ll be sleeping. Because I need it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

The great thing about having a bi-racial family located across two continents is that we get to celebrate several holidays twice. Holidays like Mother’s Day. Earlier this year it was Mother’s Day in the UK, today it’s Mother’s Day in the US and in India.

I’ve shamelessly already celebrated it, but what the heck, I’ll do it again. It’s all the more special because today my own mum’s staying over at my place.

I think the three of us might have to spend the Sunday in bed, eating junk, reading books, and talking, talking, talking.

Hope you’re having a fantastic day, too!

Reasons to Love Freelancing

10 Days, 10 Bloggers

So like I’ve mentioned, I’m participating in the WordCount Blogathon, a yearly event in which participants blog for 31 straight days. This year, 251 bloggers are participating and I’ve been trying to visit as many blogs as I can on a daily basis. I have to say, I’ve found dozens of gems. I’ve subscribed to a few of these blogs already and there are so many great entries being posted on a daily basis that I thought I’d share some with you as an introduction to some of these lovely people.

May 1: Let’s kick off the Blogathon and let the games begin. Inspirational writer and bike Jackie Dishner writes about her BIKE philosophy: find your Best self, access your Inner strength, develop your Killer instincts, and use your Expressive voice.

May 2: Simply Jan reminds us to forget being a perfectionist and just GO.

May 3: For writers, advice from writer John Beck to learn from Shakespeare.

May 4: Kirsten D. reminds us of the transience of life and why not to take things and people in your life for granted.

May 5: Michelle Rafter, organizer of the Blogathon does a Week 1 recap with some of the international bloggers (including moi).

May 6: A timely reminder from Marcie Brock to rest, relax and reboot.

May 7: Do you have a clean office? Do you make time to sweep under the cabinets? No? Jennifer Willis has a few housekeeping tips for you.

May 8: This is my favorite entry of the entire Blogathon so far. How’s that for a recommendation? Stay focused and keep shipping. I’ve taped that to my wall.

May 9: You don’t have to fight your life battles alone. Jackie Dishner shows you how to elicit support from your friends in times of trouble. (Can you tell I love her blog?)

May 10: I’ll leave you with this amazing and incredible story about Lilly, a pit bull who saved her owner from being hit by an oncoming train.