Coffee With David

It has been a long time since I have posted a blog. As things in my life became chaotic, blogging was the first thing to go. Every writer can tell you that the writing life is a constant game of juggling. In truth, everyone has to juggle in their life. It is a game of balance: work, family, friends, networking, and so forth. Like a real juggler, each of these demands on us, writer and non-writer, are like bowling pins that we keep lobbing into the air while we deal with the next one that falls into our hands. Writers often have more bowling pins than others—as we are our own companies and have all the issues that come with running a company.

In 2010, I failed in my juggling. It had started out as a bright year where I thought I would be able to accomplish a few projects and I even had a little publication success in the early part of the year. Instead, two of my bowling pins took over: my bill-paying job and my responsibility to family. Even my study of martial arts suffered—and continues to do so. I could go on and complain about politics in the United States—which has a direct relationship in the amount of time I have outside of my bill-paying job—but it would not solve anything. If I need to get my frustration out, I can easily turn to my punching and kicking bag than post something on a blog. They would have the same results of frustration relief, but hitting the bag would make me feel better.

I have no excuses for the way the year went. It was what it was. As pointed out at a panel I attended about juggling the writing life and everything else, as I started to describe my situation looking for advice and not sure what I would get—and having to calm a few people in the audience down as I was trying not to make things political (as I explained very briefly how current politics effected my life directly)—I got what I should have expected. The fellow writers and I went through the entangled ball of yarn and in the end we all came to the conclusion that I was basically up a proverbial creek without the equally proverbial paddle.

Actually things got so bad as the year progressed, and has now moved into 2011, that I actually seriously almost gave up hope in myself as a part-time writer. I haven’t produced any stories, poems, or even found a lot of time to write in the last 6 or more months. However, I finally gave myself a proverbial drill sergeant motivational talk and have now begun to eek out a few minutes here and there to write.

It is slow. Where I am use to having 3000 or more words a day rough drafted, I am lucky if I make a tenth of it now. At least I am moving in the right direction—or so I have to keep reminding myself—and plan to have some of the big projects done this year.

As a PS to this entry...I came across a YouTube video. I am not endorsing the DVD it sells or anything like that. But, the message...that I am endorsing. You know...we all get down about life. God knows I often do--like you are the only one who is standing against the waves of chaos determined to beat you down. Then you see something like this...and you have to ask, why do I let it get to me when someone like this can easily count his pluses in life? It is a lesson we all need to be reminded of. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
For those who follow me on Facebook, yes, this is the same video I posted there.