Monday, June 27, 2011

Freestyle Writing for Years = Joy

Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt
2008/2009/2010/2011 - I wrote, and then I wrote some more.  Mid-2008 I graduated from pencils and notebooks to a used laptop.  It came with Open Office.Org Writer and that is what I used.  Oh, a nice new version of MSWord sat unopened nearby - but I was far too busy spending every spare moment writing than to waste time installing new software!  Perhaps I didn't do anything the easy way over these years, I just did it. 
Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt
Fortunately for me I had the type of job that allowed me to make my own schedule and, when I wasn't traveling, I could easily work from home and then switch over to what I really needed to do - and that is write some more.  When I did travel, I took my project with me and worked on it after hours.  When I was at the office, I took it with me and wrote at lunch and on breaks.  I took a laptop and time-lines and index cards with me even on vacation, where I wrote scrunched into an uncomfortable chair underneath a mosquito netting (went on a lot of fishing vacations, hubby knew my main focus was on my laptop anyway so I had no objection to even the most remote mosquito infested locations.  I don't even fish but my mind was already in my happy place).
Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt
On those rare occasions when I did step away from my writing?  I was usually exercising, trying to keep the body happy for long stints of typing/sitting.  I wonder if other writers have suffered unspeakable writer ailments?  Such as bruising in odd places from sitting on a wooden bench for over a year (I like to think it was the brillance of my story that kept me from noticing just how very uncomfortable that was).  Do other writers completely change their diet and exercise habits when they're working?  Four years of doing what I feel I was meant to do, along with eating good (and taking up jogging) has made me feel so good I am firmly convinced that I am one of the happiest people on the planet. 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Humble Beginnings

Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt



Inspired by the brilliant flashes pouring from The Glitter Globe, I had little idea of the odyssey I was embarking upon. This story literally changed my life, but that is getting ahead of myself. The first three months I spent every possible moment armed with a big fat 3-subject notebook from Staples and a pencil. The electric pencil sharpener was as high tech as I got in those early months. I filled pages, front and back, of many notebooks with the early stages of my story. I wrote sitting in chairs, in cars, in airplanes, flat on my back in bed with the book held up in the air (one reason why I preferred pencils). I worked on yards and yards of time-lines, and filled three index card boxes with characters, places and information from the world that was pouring out of The Glitter Globe.



Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt
It isn't possible for me to even speculate how much time I've put into this, I stopped watching television, I stopped reading, every moment I could spare and many that I maybe shouldn't have went into writing furiously.  Did I mention I stopped over-eating?  I'd always been a stress-eater and suddenly I wasn't.  I started to exercise too - I had to do something to offset the 8-12 hours spent writing every day.  At first I simply donated 20 minutes every morning and evening to the dusty old Stairmaster that hadn't been used in years.
Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt
I think that my newfound joy at doing something I'd always wanted to do (writing) and had never taken the time to do was contagious.  My husband recognized my obsession and joy and encouraged me; my children were somewhat amused and didn't ask too many questions about what I would only refer to as "My Project".  They all missed the days when Mom cooked and cleaned but they took on those chores without complaint, probably thankful that I wasn't too insistent that they eat the fruits and vegetables that I was enjoying mostly raw.  Who had time to cook?!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Once Upon a Time...

Photo Credit: S. R. Karfelt



One of the most entertaining ideas for a story I've had to date drifted through The Glitter Globe approximately four years ago.  I remember it well.  I was at a painfully dull conference for my job, at a beautiful resort in a tropical setting.  I was laying in a hotel bed too sick to move (and if you ever are too sick to move, having daily maid service is really the way to go).  It didn't really matter where I was though, I was simply trying very hard not to move my Glitter Globe too much; every motion brought an accompanying wave of awful dizziness and nausea. 

Then it just came to me, this lovely little story spilled out like a book.  I was entranced, it came not like a daydream but in words.  Times New Roman font.  I didn't care that my world would pitch and yaw if I even moved my head, I just wanted to know what happened next.  Towards the end of that week I managed to put on my dress pants and my blouse with the corporate logo, and stagger to the conference, but my mind was mostly full of My Story.  I could not wait to get home and start writing it down!