There's More to Life than Housework

In my life, anyway.

The lived-in look is good enough for me. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with reasonably clean and tidy. After all, even if a house is cleaned until it is immaculate, how long does that last, anyway? Not very long.

I tune out when I hear people talking about how to get the dirt out from under their refrigerators. I mean, wait until you move! Who is going to see it? And are there really people who move all their furniture every week to vacuum behind something that requires two people and a jack to move it?

I remember the mother of one of my friends who followed us around the house whenever I was over there, and she would polish the doorknobs milli-seconds after I touched them. She had three perfect birch logs in the fireplace, never burned of course, because that would cause the fireplace to have (gasp!) ashes strewn on the bottom. And I'll bet she dusted those logs too.

Of course, we could never sit on my friend's bed, because that would wrinkle the bedspread. Needless to say, I didn't go over to her house very often.

I clean enough so that no one's going to call the health department. I tidy up enough so that I can find something the next time I look for it. But scrub my toilet with a toothbrush? Wash the kitchen floor every day? Pull out every book in the bookcase when I dust. Uh, no.

There's more to life than a sterile, immaculate house!

Do you want to be a writer?

Or do you just like the idea of being a writer?

I read an article in a magazine once about how people often liked the idea of doing something much more than actually doing it. One example was people dreaming of giving up city life and moving to a farm. While there are a tiny number of people who actually do that, most folks don't really want to give up their city life and invest themselves in the truly hard work of farm life. The idea of it is much more fun.

I felt the same way about a home-made Christmas. I loved the idea of making my own cards, gifts, wrapping paper, dozens of kinds of cookies and candies, Christmas-tree decorations, etc. But I realized it was the idea I liked. I didn't really want to actually do all those things. I could simply appreciate the people who did.

Would-be writers are often in love with the idea of writing. They like to talk about writing and think about writing and read about writing. They may even go to a conference or two. But when it comes to sitting down and actually writing, well, it turns out they really prefer the idea of being a writer. It's so much easier, and fun, to daydream about developing a plot, creating characters, and describing settings than to put those ideas down on paper or computer.

"I'm too busy," they often will say. "If only I didn't have to work/parent/study, why I would write a book." As if it is so easy-peasy that all it takes is just a bit more free time. Well, no harm in daydreaming and liking the idea of something. We all do it. But if you really want to be a writer, there's only one way to accomplish that dream--sit down and start writing and keep going until you finish a manuscript. And don't wait, start today!

Humor--We Need It!

"When humor goes, there goes civilization."--Erma Bombeck “The secret to humor is surprise.”–Aristotle “Humor is truth.”–Victor Borges “[Mark Twain] understood that the source of laughter was not joy but sorrow.”–Ken Burns “Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.”–James Thurber "A joke is a very serious thing."--Winston Churchill "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing."--Mark Twain "A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It is jolted by every pebble on the road." "A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles."--Mignon McLaughlin

Found! Favorite Lost Movie

For years I tried to figure out the name of a movie I saw on TV (it was an old movie even then), when I was a kid, about a sailor whose horse died and then he finds a horse on a Pacific island in WWII. I thought the leading man was Robert Walker and searched all his movies to no avail. Then one day I was browsing through my copy of Leonard Maltin's movie book to check something-or-other and my eyes landed on the title "Gallant Bess." I read the description and that was the movie! Starring Marshall Thompson, not Robert Walker! I even found a used copy on the interet, so I got to watch it again! In color! (who knew?) With scenes that had been edited out for Saturday-afternoon TV showings! :) What fun to relive that childhood memory of a favorite movie.

Traveling ;)

I have been in many places, but I have never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can not go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I have also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They do not have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my children, friends, family and work. I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore. I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often. I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm. Sometimes I am in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older. One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

Novel Research

Authors of non-fiction have to do a lot of research, but authors of novels have to make sure they get their facts straight too. My books (so far) have all been contemporary, so I haven't had to do the kind of research authors of historical novels do. But that doesn't mean I don't do any research. I once read an entire book about minor league baseball, even though the subject was a very minor point in The Perfect Guy--but I wanted to get everything right! I researched Scandinavian food for Hey, Nobody's Perfect, because the characters attend a Scandinavian Fair. I guess I did a good job, because someone wanted "my" recipe for Blueberry Kakar! (I don't have one. :) ) So the next time you read a book, realize that you may be reading the results from research about topics in that story, no matter how minor they might be to the plot.

I am the Tortoise

Well, okay, I am not that particular tortoise, but I fit the mold. I'm the kind of person who likes to do one thing at a time. I'm not a multitasker. I don't juggle several balls at one time. I don't burn the candle at both ends. And I don't write particularly quickly. I write about one book a year. Now, I have had more than one book published in the space of one year. But that's because sometimes manuscripts "stack up." Maybe because one has sat with a publisher for a year or more, or maybe it's because I've set one aside so I can look at it with fresh eyes. Or maybe one is being reissued. But I write at the speed of one-a-year. There are hares I admire, who just seem to have several things going at once and who finish everything, and on time. There are, however, some hares like the one in the story, who burn themselves out before the race is over. Everybody's different. Like the tortoise, I finish the race, and I "win" by accomplishing my goal of finishing the manuscript.