The Meandering Writer
I don’t know what it is but lately I’ve been having 
difficulty getting my footing. Some of it has to do with adjustments in the new year. I know, it’s the end of February, but I’m still feeling disorganized as far as my writing life goes.
Part of the problem, as you can tell from my bio, is I’m a Jill of all trades. I am a curious individual and so it’s easy for me to get distracted by all the social media. So much so, that I’ve taken a break from Twitter and Facebook. Not a complete break ( I visit occasionally) but a break nonetheless.
So you think I’d have more time, huh? Yes and no. It’s not as if I’m not doing anything about the writing. In fact, I hired an editor and am now waiting to hear what she has to say about my novel. That’s exciting and I welcome what will come. Then I hope to put it out there and get an agent (I’ve had them before, but that was for my screenplays) and go the traditional route. If it takes too long, and it almost feels that way already, as I’m not that young (at heart, yes; body, no), I’ll self-publish. Yay! Join the others and hope mine rises to the surface, rather than ends up in a forgotten bin on the internet.
Quinsam River, Campbell River
I’m feeling the need to let go of expectations and flow like the river. As I ride the current, I’m continuing to write my grandmother’s story. Not as fast as I’d like, but progress isn’t always fast. And it’s never a straight line up. Sometimes you go backwards for awhile or take a side trip. I think every writer knows that journey.
And I’m about to throw my long short story out there, a coming of age story about a young girl in the 1950s. Maybe I’ll enter it in the odd contest, and see what happens. Plus there’s all that poetry lying around and oh yes, another novel that needs attention, my first one, the one that was originally a screenplay and got me two agents.
No, I get distracted because it’s almost spring, and I have stuff to go through. I’m not a hoarder, but I do have stuff, like old VHS tapes of family. Seven bins in all. Though they’ve been carefully copied on to DVDs, I feel a need to double check before we trash all those VHS memories.
I’ve also been spending huge chunks of time with my grandson, Michael Stevantoni, filmmaker, who did the Brother, that I acted in last year. Now, I’m helping him produce his next short film, and that’s a time gobbler—casting actors, getting costumes, props, schedules, location scouting, equipment 
purchase, rentals, borrowing lights, getting behind the scenes footage. Huge!!! But it’s all worth it.
And of course, my piano lessons and the garden. We are gardening already on the west coast, in between storms. The crocuses are up. So, I think you can see why I’m feeling somewhat fragmented.
While I’m sorting out my priorities, I’ll keep meandering down the writing trail. I’ll keep climbing those steps to getting that novel published. And I’ll enjoy the view along the way.
What about you? Are you at all like me? Lots of interests fighting for your time? If so, how do you manage?
I love reading your “meanderings,” Diana. I absolutely understand what you mean, as I’m still having trouble getting back into my manuscript after the holidays. However, it sounds to me like you’re accomplishing a LOT! But I hear you about the spirit being young versus living long enough to see all our creative projects birthed…lol!
Can’t wait to hear the feedback from your editor regarding your wonderful MS.
~ Karen
Thanks, Karen. I am accomplishing a lot, but you know, there is so much more, huh? As for editor, I’ll keep you posted.
Just remember, Diana, it’s the journey that’s important — not just the destination. So sight-see!!
So true, thanks for the reminder. It’s all about the journey, isn’t it? And though I lament the time it takes, I do enjoy the process. That can be rewarding in itself.
Meandering and enjoying the view sound like very good things. 🙂
Love the photos!
Good luck with your novel. I think that taking a break from social media now and then is worth the effort.
Thanks for the good wishes. Onward, huh?
Continue onward my friend we walk with you smiling as you move forward. xo P.S. did you get your entry in for my new giveaway?
So lovely, Katherine. Thanks.
Yes sometimes we do end up with lots of other stuff to do in the real world and end up with a writer’s block.
Love the photos!
Thanks. It’s not so much writer’s block as it is my giving in to distractions. Though these breaks are sometimes more important in the moment, they interrupt that all important writing discipline. Without my daily rhythm of writing, it becomes harder to pick up where I left off. Ah, a writer’s plight. I know I’m not alone.
I call this process my manic stage. I am a painter, graphic designer, poet, writer and traveler-I love the feeling of being torn from all the different directions and everyday it seems there’s a new direction or idea. I have actually started writing short stories instead of saving them for later. I ride the current of mania for as long as I can. I guess that’s a curse of the creative.
Steven, thanks for your comments. It’s so true as you say, this current of mania that can grip any artist. It’s both a curse and a blessing. As I watch my grandson struggle with his filmmaking dreams, I see both the agony and the joy of creation. There is joy in figuring out how to tell the story best in film- how to compose those pictures, how to let the camera do its magic, the framing, the lighting, the set, the costumes, the acting, all of it. And then there’s the agony of the artist who is never fully satisfied with what he’s created. Always reaching for more. There was that magnificent book I read years ago about Michelangelo – The Agony and the Ecstasy by Iring Stone. It said it all.