Making the Most of Our Time

Thought for the day:  If my doctor told me I had only six  minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.  [Isaac Asimov]

As you can probably tell by that nifty badge on the left, it's that time again.Time for our monthly IWSG posts. As always, thanks to our fearless leader, Alex Cavanaugh, for founding this fine group, and
 thanks to all the other nurturing guys and gals who've helped turn it into the thriving community it is today. To join this super supportive group of writers and to see links to other participating blogs, please go HERE

So what do you think of the thought for the day? Does that sentiment accurately reflect your thoughts about writing? Is writing your number one top priority, such that if you knew your time was coming to an end, that's how you'd chose to spend your last moments? Is that what's required to make us... real writers? If that's the case... I don't just feel like a fraud; I am one.

No matter what we do in life, I reckon we all have our insecurities. In fact, feeling like a fraud is so common, it even has its own title: Impostor Syndrome.

If this syndrome had a motto, it'd be I have no idea what I'm doing.

If it had a mascot, it'd be a chameleon. Fake, of course.

And I suspect most writers are afflicted with this dastardly syndrome. Know what'd happen if a group of writers were on the To Tell the Truth TV show, and the host said, Will the real writer please stand up? They'd look at each other, and they might even begin to stand once or twice, but in the end, all of their derrieres would remain glued to the chair.

You write? I write, too. But does that make us real writers? Let's forget about the six minutes left to live scenario, because that's a little ridiculous. Let's make it six months. Would you spend your last six months frantically trying to finish your novel?

I wouldn't.

I'm kinda like that duck in the picture. I like hanging around with all of you cool flamingos, but just because I can stand on one leg doesn't mean I'm one of you. I feel like the nerdy kid sitting at the cool kid table in the lunch room.

But that's okay. I don't mind being a nerd. And since I haven't been told I only have six minutes or six months left to live, I intend to keep plugging away at my book.

But it isn't my top priority, and I'm okay with that.

I'd actually made some decent progress on my current novel, which takes place in Montrose School for Girls ( a reform school in Maryland) in the late fifties. THEN I got an email from a gal who spent a couple years there during that time frame. I'd emailed HER first, but it'd been so long ago, I gave up on ever getting a reply. And then BOOM! Right before Christmas, she contacted me, and said I could call her after Christmas. Since then, we've spoken several times, and she said I could call any time. She's happy to provide me information about the school and the conditions there. I mean, WOW!

So, bottom line, I've gone back to the beginning of the book to make appropriate changes to reflect this new information she's provided me. It's a little discouraging to be essentially starting all over again. Makes it feel like I'll never get done.

And maybe I won't. Maybe the joke's on me, and I really do only have six months left.

But ya know what? That's okay, too. But however long I have, I've gotta keep doing the things that make life worthwhile. That includes writing and reading... but there's so much more...

[image courtesy of morguefile]

Which brings me to this month's question:

Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have? 

You name it. Cooking's a biggie, (Good thing, too, because we like to eat.) Being creative with our meals and trying new things makes it less of a chore and more of an adventure. Art and music are important to me, too. I've tried and enjoyed all kinds of crafts, but I'll tell you a secret. For the past year or so, Smarticus and I have been shooting a lot of pool. A lot. That isn't exactly creative, but it sure is fun. And I must confess, if he asks me if I wanta shoot, I generally drop whatever else I'm doing and reach for my pool cue.

                               How about you? How do you enjoy spending your time?

                               Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.