Good morning. My name is Rhonda Parrish and I've been honored to be asked to come write a guest blog here at Clare's blog 'The world can wait'.I love to do guest blogs, but sometimes it's very tricky to figure out something to write about. I have done several guest spots lately and I was beginning to feel like the well of subject ideas had gone dry, but I logged in while I tried to think of something to write about. That's when I processed the title of this blog.
The world can wait.
Sure, I'd seen the title before, but I hadn't actually ever thought about it before. Today, my caffeine-deprived brain just latched onto that title like a pit bull and wouldn't let go.
As a writer my biggest struggle is with writing. Not the mechanics of it, or revision, or flow, or ideas, characters not any of that. The hardest part for me is actually sitting my butt down in a chair and writing. Just pouring the words out of my brain and onto the page. It seems like it should be the easiest part, but it's just not. At least not for me.
I am a very busy woman with a lot of things on my schedule, so it might seem logical that other commitments are what keep me from writing. They aren't. I am the queen of procrastination, often lack focus and tend to want more from my first drafts then they can reasonably give me. All these things contribute to my issues with actually sitting down and getting it done.
One thing that does get my butt in the chair and keep it there to write is fear. Fear that the world will not wait. Fear that I will die in a car accident and have all the stories still locked in my brain die with me. It's true. Perhaps that says something horrible about my psyche, but i
t's true.Only I can tell my stories and time won't stop for me. I'm not exempt from crisis, emergencies, sickness or death. That means when I can find time to write I need to grab it and go with it. I know this. Knowing and doing are two different things, but I'm working on it...
When I do sit down and write, I am generally very happy with what I produce, and I write quickly. The first draft of my new release, Sister Margaret, was written in one sitting.
So the world can wait? In some cases, but for me, fear that it won't is a pretty strong motivating force.
How about you? What motivates you to write? Or if you don't write, what motivates you to get up and do stuff you know needs to be done?
Rhonda Parrish
http://www.rhondaparrish.com
http://www.niteblade.com
Comments
The quote came from an episode of Inspector Lynley. His wife had just died and he was being pulled in all directions. He just walked to a hilltop, sat down and decided the world could wait for a minute while he mourned his wife.
But using it for writing is a really good idea. Think the hoovering adn dusting can wait too ;-)
It's been a pleasure to have you here. I just tagged yesterdays post with your name and book title.
My main motivation now is the desire to tell a story and give my life a purpose. That's what it comes down to - I needed something to define myself. I am a writer, one who actually writes and has the publications to prove it.