Unfinished

A while back I read a book called “On Writing” by Stephen King. In it he discussed some of the events that led to him becoming a writer, memoir style, and then he gave some advice on how to do it. I found much of it to be sound, and I would know, of course, since I’m a published writer and all (ok, no I’m not but it sounded good to me anyway).

One of the main things he discussed was setting a schedule to write, a routine. You do the same thing every day; you know, wake up, take your morning walk, have breakfast, and then sit down to write for at least three hours.

What? Three hours! I never have three uninterrupted hours! It struck me; writers really do consider writing to be a job. It takes time, thought, focus, and having three little ones running around means that no, I do not have three hours to myself. Some days I’m lucky to take a shower.

But I kind of want to be a writer. I find it exhilarating to work on just the right phrasing, to find the perfect combination of words to express what I feel. I love the exercise my brain gets when it is forced to look at things from a different perspective, to find the interesting in the everyday.

For about two years now I’ve been working on a memoir, my love story. And though I have no intention of trying to have it published, there is a big part of me that wants it to be good enough that someone would consider it publishable material.

Today I had three golden, uninterrupted hours. The ideas were flowing and I was making progress in areas I had previously been unable to crack. I understand the 3-hour concept. What if I could do this every day? What if?

I’ll tell you one thing…I would not still be working on the same piece! That would have been long ago finished and I’d be on to bigger and better things.

But then it would be a job and I’m already employed full-time. I’ve heard there’s a time and a season for everything. My kids and family need me and for this season, I suppose that’s where I’m supposed to be. So I’ve thrown out the deadlines, I work when I can, and someday, yes, someday, I will finish my little 60,000 word memoir.