Serious or not! If you didn't write, what would you be doing?!

[carole gill]

Allowing for the day job--!
Okay, you come home and you write.
You write when you can, or you write a certain proportion of the day, night or evening--BUT!!!!! If you DIDN'T write--?!
What would you be doing?
Over-eating, reading, painting: houses, canvases--or perhaps you'd be sculpting, sewing, watching t.v., exercising (shudder), writing poison pen letters to newspapers, dancing, couch potatoing, what do you think?
I'd be reading more I think. I'd also be sticking my nose in, in amateur dramatics and most certainly I'd be nagging my husband more about doing stuff around the house (he loves that I'm occupied with writing)!
How about you?

[carole gill]

Interesting, thanks Dan.
So true about living and dying with our decisions. well-said.
We can't go back--life and trade-offs go together, don't they?
Let's see--with me, I didn't go back to writing until I was able to--ten years ago.
Now I find there's so much more immediacy in my focus--I'm so gung ho to get there and get stuff published and write more because I "ain't gettin' any younger!" it drives me nuts--my drive!

[Christine Duncan]

Apparently, replying to posts like these! I am wasting --er hum, investing too much time on things like blog reading (what about those candidates?) and Twitter.

[carole gill]

I post these discussion sometimes to stay sane!
usually after my brain starts to fall-apart.
But breaks are good too, aren't they?
just don't waste too much time on them!
I guess it's a question of priorities.
any way, thanks Christine!

[I. J. Parker]

Well, I used to teach. Few of us can write without some sort of job to pay the bills. Now I take some time for gardening. But I have also painted (walls, furniture, and paintings). Writing is by far the best. Even with its frustrations.

[carole gill]

true. and agreed.
didn't know you taught, that's interesting.
I've done everything there is, I think--(within reason)!
Gardening's good--very theraputic.
Also playing with my dogs helps relieve stress and then when I see one of them has taken a chunk out of a new rubber soled shoe (and he did two weeks ago), the stress kind of comes back.
i think also writing is a committment--it's a thing that a person does no matter what. if committment was on a 1-10 scale, i'd be 15--whatever happens.
Painting furniture, huh? bet it's nice. I always wanted to do that!
thanks I.J.

[Angela]

Reading. Looking for books to read. Reading reviews about books. Driving to the library, or book store. Scouring garage sales for books. I recently listened to a book on my MP3 player. It was like phone sex - tolerable but in no way as good as the real thing.

[carole gill]

Love that analogy!
yeah I guess that would be it for me, really.
I'd read a lot more. as much as I'd like to. sometimes I get frustrated because I'm not getting to read as much and as often as I'd like.
thanks Angela.

[Deirdre]

What is it with the exercising (shudder)? Boy is that common, is it a writer thing? ---- I like to walk if there is a purpose to it, but to exercise for the sake of exercising - sorry, just can't. So that would be the very, very last thing I'd do. But I don't mind baking, being with friends, out to lunch, or what have you, might even break down and clean the house, scrub walls...

Actually thats what I tend to do when I'm procrastinating from hitting the computer... HMMM.

Actually I'm a paralegal by trade. I put a resume in yesterday. Now that the kids are grown up and don't need me home I think I could work outside the house. It will definitely cut down on writing time though.
Have a nice night.

Deirdre

[carole gill]

paralegal? do you like law themed crime novels? just wondering.
good luck with the job prospect btw!
baking's fun, although I haven't baked in a long time now--
I cook and clean--those are my breaks!
About exercising--! I like taking my dogs out--walking around town--(big deal to go to town here)--I like sightseeing walking too.
but other than that, I rather ride!
As for most forms of exercise: IT IS SO NOT FOR ME! exercise is great, healthy--I admire people who do it, just can't get into it!
thanks Deirdre!
send over the next pie you bake!

[Deirdre]

They are okay, but I prefer action/suspense/romance in my reading. The firm was good.

Actually, I think I'm more animated about writing than anything else I could do to bring in money. Unfortunately, the writing process, selling, publishing, is slow so if need money... writing novels, not the way to go.

I admire people who exercise daily too. I just never seem to be able to to stick with it for more than a year or two, then I'm right back where I started.

Deirdre

[carole gill]

about exercise, i was really, really into it a couple of years ago--gym and everything and then I just found it too much (for me), yes I admire people too who like it and do it--but it's not for me!
Romance is nice in a novel--but I just like it there in the background of the action.
although having said that, I don't mind it in a film!
thanks Deirdre!

[carole gill]

Yes, it is something to fall back on--a foundation. something that can't be kicked out from under us--either by ourselves or someone else.
The basic thing is we write because we're writers.
and the very fact that no matter what happens, we start typing again--working again because it's in us--because it's what makes us, us!
I do thank you for your reply and all the best to you, too, Rafe!
p.s. just looked at the link you gave. what an interesting magazine!
thanks for that!
GO TAKE A LOOK AT THE LINK, FOLKS IT'S GREAT!