"CAR`PE DIEM"

                                               

                                   Getting the Most from Your Life as a Writer

            Life as we know is filled with actions and activities that sometimes subtract from the quality of our daily existence. Time waits for no man.  The progression is swift, the days, months, and years flash by as though on hyper speed, and as a result, miss many things along the way.

If you’re like me, sometimes, I have a one-track mind, I eat, sleep and dream writing. Because of this, sometimes I loose track of other things that are equally important to me. 

Such as family time, catching up with relatives and friends, life in general.  All these things are literally passing by while I concentrate on what makes me tick as a person.

Not that’s necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes we must do as the title suggest, seize not just the day, but every opportunity to get the most from our lives.  The pace must slowdown to achieve this goal.

How do you do this and maintain an active writing routine, you might ask? Well first you have to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. Not only smell, but reflect on what makes that rose special.  There must be a level of appreciation for the things we use to develop our stories.

Listening is another great way to get the most from your writing life. Some of my greatest inspirations have come from moments like these. Learning to be an inactive participant gains much more in knowledge than engaging in actual conversation.

I people watch. I notice mannerisms, listen to discussions and the different dialects. I gain a valuable view of how we as individuals communicate and socialize with each other on basic levels. Thus, this allows me to interject the very real and human emotions into the characters that I create.

To perfect what you do as a writer, you must interact socially and intellectually from these experiences, and find inspiration from them to not be simply good, but great. You see, the world wasn’t created in a day, nor or the stories we create.  We must participate in life in order to write about it.

I am so in love with being a writer that I sometimes treat it like a new love affair.  It absorbs me emotionally, physically and mentally. I am dedicated, and loyal. My fidelity is unquestionable. But because of my faithfulness to the craft, I sometimes forget that there are other important things that also need my attention.  

I hate distractions, and constant interruptions from my daily writing routine. It irks me, I have to admit. What I realized is that these disruptions are not designed to keep me away from a project but allow me to reflect on something else. 

To regroup and redirect my thoughts, to think and analyze so that what I was about to write reflects greater insight on the subject.

Yes, I want to seize every moment that I can to do what I do best, at the same time my relationship with writing should never keep me so deeply absorbed that I’m unable to focus on anything else.

With anything there are always ups, and downs involved.  Focusing all your attention on one thing, detracts from something else. We must maintain a balance between our love of writing and life.  A partnership must exist to keep things equal and achieve the most as a writer.

One should never overshadow the other. Instead, should strengthen and create a cohesive bond between the two.  I can attest to this because my life as a writer, has transformed me from the introverted person I once was to a blossoming exhibitionist on paper.

Remember we are more than conquerors, the goal is to always seize the moments in writing, so that we get the most out of life.

Keep writing and exemplifying the gift.