Current Project:None
Status: thinking
There are a bunch of cats up there because the only thing I can think to write about after the last very eventful and very trying week is observation. It seems to me that's what a cat does. How often have I seen one of mine perched on some impossible ledge, just watching the world go by?
Novelists and other artistic types observe people and things and reinterpret them in their work. Even in the worst of times, part of us takes mental notes. I found myself doing this over and over. The details caught me, especially if when they were unique. I would sit there and wonder if I would have thought of all these things if I'd been writing this scene. Would I have understood the feelings correctly and portrayed them honestly? I committed them to memory without consciously deciding to do so.
Sometimes this tendency to observe life, even my own, from a distancing lens is a little disconcerting. Is this common to writers? Is it a protective device? Are you like this, too?
I'm suddenly in a kind of strange place. The responsibility for my mother's well being is over and I'm between books. It's like standing in the eye of a hurricane because my editor asked me to think about writing a series of three or four interconnected books for my next project. This is very exciting in a pleasant and almost distant way but soon enough an idea will sweep into my head and I'll be off again. Right now, I'm like a cat. Watching.
10 comments:
Huge, huge, huge hugs to you, Alice.
If there is ANYTHING you need, please ask. I'm done with teaching after tonight, and I absolutely wouldn't mind a drive south if you need anything, even just a distracting walk.
Maybe there can be cats in your next series . . . . . . If you managed to get Cats + Babies + some sort of cowboy/law enforcement angle I think they should give you a bonus :)
(done with teaching until January, I should have said. . .)
The good thing is you are between books and there for could concentrate on what needed done the last week.
I agree, I tend to watch things, even my own life, as an observer. We are constantly watching people, listening to them and filing away snippets that might come in handy.Experiences we could draw from.
I like Wavy's idea for the next project. And Wavy, Congrats on the teaching reprieve for a month.
I'm reading between the lines here, since I'm no longer on the mail list, but I'm guessing your mom has passed away, Alice. I'm sorry for the huge empty spot that must be leaving in your heart, not to mention your schedule.
It's ironic that our parents play a larger and larger role in our lives as they begin to need more and more of our care, and then there is a sudden end when they die. In time, you'll find the just-right amount of space and time to devote to remembering your mom in your heart, and perhaps even in your writing.
Many writers have dealt with grief by writing memoirs of their lost parents for their families or for publication. Just a thought...
I'm saying a prayer for you.
Thanks for the hugs, Wavy. I'm doing fine. I like your idea of cats in the next book and I really like the idea of a bonus.
I hope you enjoy your month off and congratulations on your exciting and wonderful news!
Paty -- Glad to hear I'm in good company. I can't tell you how many times I stopped to think how happy I am that I wasn't on a deadline.
Barbara -- thank you. Nice to hear from you. There will be a void but the overwhelming grief I experienced when my father and brother died is mitigated by the fact that her life was led well and long and not interrupted midstream. I'm kind of surprised what a difference that makes. I miss her, of course, and probably always will.
(((HUGS))) to you, Alice.
I think your tendency to observe is a sign of your wisdom. I recently rediscovered a book by Deepak Chopra called "The Way of the Wizard" in which he talks about observing being a way to discover who we truly are. So perhaps from this observant period you are going through will indeed be born new ideas that will sweep you up and into another adventure!
Deepak Chopra has been coming up in a few interesting ways lately in my life. I think it may be time to check out his books.
Thanks, Genene. I'm sad, but I'm okay and I'm glad she is no longer in pain.
I'm sorry 'bout your mom, Alice. At least it was a good end. Now she can move on to a new story. ^_^ Hope you can get things worked out easily and efficiently and work on life again.
I watch a lot. It's sort of funny, because I'll point something out and no one else ever noticed, even after weeks. :D But then there are those weird times when I've not seen a thing and miss huge things. Maybe I focus on little things more? Hmm... Or I space-out too often. That's probably what it is. Yep. *nods*
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