I had been really busy for the past few months with non-writing work, and had barely managed to squeeze some writing in here and there. Mostly I edited, and put together paper copies of books and other publishing things. I wasn’t really doing a lot of fresh writing.
But I had set aside time this month to get back into it - swathes of time to be filled with working on several book projects that I have been putting off for the right time or at least enough time. And now I have it.
But I am not writing.
What have I been doing instead? I have been sorting out my closet. And my cupboards where all my cosmetics and toiletries and odds and ends are kept. The other day I re-arranged the entire kitchen. I have also set up really pretty corners and spaces in my room - prettying up with stuffed animals and decorative cushions.
Still not a word. If you don’t count the page and a half I wrote the other day at McDonald’s with an ice-cream sundae. And I don’t really count that.
I should be stressed out and annoyed and to some extent I am. I am worried that all my precious writing time will be used up and then other work will come in and life will intervene and I won’t get my books written. But at the same time I trust that part of myself that knows what it needs to write. And I think right now this is exactly what I need to do.
Some writers clear out their desk when they have finished a book. I usually need to turn around everything in my house. Once I re-arranged all the furniture in my study, moving massive filing cabinets and the desk that came in two pieces and the huge bed that took up all the space in the middle of the room. I found that moving things around actually gave the room a new lease of life - suddenly the space looked bigger and flowed better. And I started a new book right after that.
Today I went through files that I had refused to look at for more than 5 years. I just lugged them from apartment to apartment, assuming I would need to keep it all. I threw out bunches of paper and felt lighter than I have in a while - letting go of old interests and curiosities.
I’m making way for the new ideas and projects instead.
I trust that when I am ready, I will start working on the new books. In the meantime, I am clearing house.
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