Is this what it’s like to have a REAL job?
On November 29th, I wrote about my new plan, which was to blog more often. Well, now I have another new plan.
You see, one of my biggest frustrations in my otherwise perfect life is that I let distractions take me away from writing. I have, heretofore, blamed all the people I love the most for calling me to see how my day’s going, or telling me something interesting about themselves, or checking on dinner – really mean stuff. It’s so easy to blame others for what can, occasionally, turn out to be my own damn fault. If it weren’t for THEM… I’d be successful already!
Today, for the first time, I set a timer. I told myself if I wrote for four lousy hours a day, I could re-write Midnight Street, then finish The King Family, and quickly start The Blue-Eyed Twin, publish all of the above, and receive money in the mail. Pretty good plan, don’t you think?
Before I committed to being a writer, I was an art dealer. I had a contemporary art gallery. I LOVED it. I loved everything about it, running my own business, the interaction with interesting people (artists, clients, fellow dealers, etc.). However, because it was a retail environment, my time was often dictated by all of the above. Being the boss, I needed to interact with these people (especially clients) to run a successful business. My point is, I’ve never worked in a cubicle for some lofty boss who dictated my daily schedule. I’ve always been front and center in the action and decision making, the key word being action.
So today, as my four-hour timer ticked away, and my newfound dedication kept my butt in my chair, with no Internet, no telephone, no emails, I realized work is WORK. It takes dedication. It takes practice. It takes handcuffs.
I wonder what came first: My short attention span or my long list of excuses?
But the good news is I made great progress today. The revised Midnight Street is going to be smashing! I like my new plan.