A Week of Interruptions

The week of writing has turned into a week of interruptions.

It's interesting how our life is dominated by 'interruption technologies.' Social media, communication and Internet devices all seem to vie for our attention and it makes it really hard to write. What started off as a fairly successful few days of writing turned into a battle between the pen, the Internet and life itself.

The Pen
As I said, this started well. Despite my wife being away from home and being alone with my 8 year old, I managed to get a good start on Saturday. My son is quite capable of keeping himself entertained and so over the course of the following two days I was able to edit two chapters a day. Sure I got up at six and went to bed at midnight, but I was on a roll. So I did what every good writer does which is feed, entertain and parent the kid, but make clear that 'writing time' is 'me time' and unless he want his Lego donated to charity he better leave papa be.

The Internet
I can be focused when I really want to be. Sure it's fun to allow the Internet to distract us with social updates, messages and video clips, and yes I do believe the writer of 'The Shallows' who claims our brains are being rewired to process evermore fractured moments of interruptions, vying for our attention 24/7. So I did what every disciplined writer does and turned off my phone, turned off all my notifications, refused to read e-mail and text messages or pick up the phone. I grew a beard and ate Ramen noodles three times a day until I realized mice had moved into my unused shower.

Life
So, yeah. That happened. I guess you know where this is going. Let's face it, when you're juggling a consultancy job, future work offers, a wife overseas in need of technical support, an old body protesting it's not moving for hours at end and a hotter than hell work room in the attic, something has to give. And so I gave. And I gave. And then I gave some more. Oh, yeah and the X-Men movie happened as well. The point being? Writing a first time novel means not giving up your day job, but finding the cracks in between your schedule in which you can write. If you're passionate you'll stick with it and if you're any good you'll stop tinkering with it and publish the damn thing.

If you then still want to be an author who can ship his/her work, you need to get a shack in Nova Scotia overlooking nothing but ocean, with no phone coverage or Internet connection.

And that's exactly the first thing I'll do if this book of mine becomes a bestseller.

Speeding Up

TING! Day 2 of the Great Redrafting Marathon. Things are going great. It was a slow start yesterday, but things are picking up today. Tomorrow promises to be even better. Why? Well, first of all I'm getting the hang of writing again. Just like riding a bike. Also, I get to leave all my research, notes and other helpful things around my work space instead of tidying them up, because I have to focus on other tasks. So that makes diving into it easier in the morning. And then finally: today is Alex's last day at home, before school reopens. So no more homework, chores or other distractions. Sorry kiddo, but Papa needs to write the next Great Novel.

This is what I did today:

• 6:45 Woke up earlier than yesterday. Woohoo. Bonus! Felt so jazzed, I even allowed myself to tweet about it.
• 7:50 Ready to get crackin'. Sat behind my computer.
• 9:00 Time I really started working. Damn you Internet and damn that browbassing.
• 11:00 Hit the gym, ran for 45 minutes. Then lunch with Alex - miso soup and Vegemite on bread for me, PBJ sammie for him. I know what you're thinking.
• 12:25 Homework time with my son. Took a little longer this time, but oh well - it's the last time.
• 1:30 Shower. (Crap, I realize writing this I forgot to meditate - and now you know why I have to meditate, sheesh!)
• 1:45 Back to writing. 
• 2:30 Quick run to the kitchen to get a big glass of green tea & lemonade (what am I doing to my intestines?)
• 6:00 Finished Chapter 5: The Candy Crumb Trail: but is it really the 'old' chapters 5, 6 and 7 which I combined into 1 longer one? Or does it still only count as one, because they were so small? I dunno, but I gotta quit to cook dinner. More rice, this time with paprika and zuchini. Probably the most normal thing I eat today, what is up with that?
• 7:00 Kid goes to bed after watching Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents.
• 7:30 Post the kids homework online and back to work. Tough chapters ahead with lots of cut and pasting. Watched a little Daily Show and then at 8:00 to work.
• 10:30 Time to quit. I tired. I cuddle my pillow in absence of Nancy.

I'll leave you with more Aelemental art:

After Usagi Yoyimbo artist Stan Skai. Still looking for the right style to do the chapter illustrations.

Bonsoir!

Bullet To The Brain

Time to get straight to the point. After spending too much time looking for IT work, playing host to visitors, swimming in the Maldives (what now?) and being a nurse to my sick wife I now dedicate this week to some serious marathon writing. 7 days of non-stop revision. The fourth and final draft of Aelemental - Book 1: The Tree of Life.

This is what I did today:

• 8:15 Woke up. Crap. Already slept too long.
• 9:00 After oatmeal, groceries at empty supermarket (due to Bangkok floods) I ignore the sweat and get cracking.
• 11:15 Finished Chapter 3: The Boy and the Monkey. I exercise (weights) for 20 minutes.
• 11:45 Lunch with my 6yr old Alex - smoothie for me, PBJ sammie for him. It's tradition.
• 12:15 Alex is still having 'Snow Days' (the warmer watery variety) so we do his homework toegther.
• 1:00 Shower (it was due) and meditation (good for focus and concentration).
• 1:30 Back to writing. 
• 2:30 Coffee break: hazulnut latte and banana cake from corner shop Bicarro Coffee (good for everything)
• 5:45 Still in Chapter 4, but need to cook dinner (Nancy left yesterday for week long USA work trip). Rice with Edamame and Red Snapper. Kid loves it for some obscure reason. Might have to investigate.
• 7:00 Put kid to bed after reading some Captain Underpants (...it's the circle of nerd....)
• 7:30 Quick blog updates (this - duh and Snaxtons <- shameless plug)
• 9:30 Time I plan on stopping writing, watch some Conan/Daily Show and hit the sack. I'll tell you if I succeed in that tomorrow.

I'll leave you with some Aelemental art.

Experimenting with chapter illustrations.

Ciao!

Picking Up The Slack

This is a note my four-year old son, Alex left for me the other day and consequently the world's largest post-it note (Aesing by the way is our housekeeper and nanny - it's a Thai thing). It made me smile.

If there ever was proof that the biggest influence on young children are their parents then this is it. Even when 'papa' is struggling with the whole redrafting process, Alex is whipping out book after book. Not a week will go by without him enthusiastically stating: 'I'm gonna make a book today.' Boy, if only getting published was this easy. And actually it might be. There are enough digital online self-publishers available and I might be tempted to follow that road if it really gets tough to get published (but that is a story for another day).

Anyway, my son reminds me that the only real moment to get anything done is the NOW. I pine away lamenting the hardships of redrafting work that I really don't want to be redrafting, while looking for IT gigs I don't really want and feeling sad because I gave up a trip with my honey to Vietnam in order to punish myself for not getting the book done in time. And I won't. Deadline is up this week and I'm not even past a third of the book yet. It will get easier, but like my dad says: 'You have to do the grunt work.' And he's right. Thinking somehow because I managed to whip up some frosting does not make a good cake. Every artist in every field needs to put in the heavy lifting in order to heave their creation onto the stage. So I'll pour myself another coffee, walk up to our Bangkok city house loft, park my butt behind my groaning PC (which I seriously believe is imitating my own moans) and open that 'Fiction Writing' folder staring accusingly at me from the desktop.

Parents tell you how to do it. Offspring simply does it. And in the meantime we write blogs with large post-it notes as inspiration that life imitates art imitates life...