Monday, August 9, 2010

SHUT THE F*CK UP

Writer Interrupted

You're in the middle of a major plot twist. Fingertips fly across the keyboard, prose tight, characters jumping off the page, and then you have to put it aside because of a very irritating interruption. Annoying isn't it?

It's Monday, I've barely had any sleep since last Thursday. I have ideas swirling in me head, that's right, I said me, not my, and my mother in law is driving me nuts.

Why? Because instead of hiring professionals, she'd thought oh, my son and daughter and law can do it all. F*cking brilliant. My pinched nerve is screaming and my patience is up.

Charli is probably wondering if I died since we haven't spoken for almost an entire weekend. She's thinking I'm lying in a ditch somewhere, my computer held tightly to my chest curled into a fetal position. Who do I call, she muses? The FBI or the Mounties?

All I want to do is say shut the f*ck up so I can write. I'm accustomed to writing everyday, whenever a thought pops into me wee addled wits, I have my trusty laptop ready and waiting. And that is another story. My less than a year old MacBook Pro has a cracked, well, almost shattered screen.

Can you say ouch? After packing all day Thursday and posting DINNER WITH JAWS, I was chasing after my daughter and dropped it. Though it wasn't until much later that I realized, with disgust and horror, just what I'd done to it.

Needless to say, I ordered a new one that night, and am impatiently waiting for its arrival. 'Twas cheaper to buy a new one, with an insiders discount, than wait 6-8 weeks for the entire screen to be replaced. Can you say zero patience? I bet you can.

I know, I know, 'tis expensive, but I'm an Apple SNOB. I adamantly refuse to use any other make or model. So through a shattered screen I type my rant, pissed at the days of written interruption.

Tick toc, tick toc ... waiting for the wee banshee to fall asleep and blessed silence to descend.

Writing is like a heroine addiction, if I don't do it at least three times a day, I go through painful withdrawal. I get the shakes, want to pull out my hair and shout at whomever is distracting me from my task.


How do you cope with distraction?

AJ









11 comments:

  1. LOL well, you're gonna have to learn how to deal with it because once you get published and the edits start coming in, you'll have to drop everything and work on those edits. :-) That's life in the biz, kids.

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  2. I usually vent to you but you've been MIA. Glad you are alive, getting a new laptop, and taking a deep breath.

    Dare I ask if Mum-in-law is safe and sound?

    I honestly blog when I need to vent. Tis grand.

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  3. Aye, venting is needed once in a while!

    I think the only reason I haven't told everyone where to go is because I'm not getting paid. If, and when I am, they can all go to ... fill in the blank.

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  4. I know how that goes girl. My computer had a major seizure the other day and the hubby had to delete everything off it and reload it. It just locked up and refused to do anything. Everything was saved to my hard drive...or so I thought. LOL! I lost one of my chapters and had to rewrite it but it could have been worse. I was delirious for awhile then I sucked it up and started from scratch. As far as the Mac goes it is all I use. I could never go back to windows. I love my Mac! Things will slow down for ya hun. I have times when I can get nothing done as well. The last of our kids goes home tomorrow. We had all 6 of our kids over the summer and talk about getting nothing done. I always had someone needing something or they were fighting. Talk about going insane! I love them with all me heart but it makes for a very uneventful day with six kids around. Very little writing was achieved over the summer for me at least.

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  5. Hells ya I get pissy when I'm right in the middle of a great idea. If my hubby tired to talk to me he gets the hand, if my kids are, well being kids, then I use the electronic babysitter. If I'm just piddling away at something I'm more inclined to listen and walk away from the computer, but don't mess with me when I'm on a roll. I also use a mac. love it to bits I do. and you could always do what the inuit do with their elderly members- send them adrift on an ice flow.

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  6. Phew! So glad to know I’m not the only crazy, dedicated writer. If I don’t write something once a day, I feel like crap. Only this year, I’ve gotten into making deadlines for every project that I start. I’m a stickler for deadlines and being on time or early. So, if I have to get 4 hours of sleep to meet a deadline I set for myself, I do that. Now throw deadlines set by everyone around you, which may include your publisher, editor, promo buds, your crit patners etc. It’s a hobby turned job and sometimes I do wonder…When do I get a break?
    Nice one, AJ. I need that vent, now back to work.

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  7. Oh A.J. I hear ya! Hey, I hope your MIL doesn't read ur blog lol. So sorry to hear about ur laptop too. That sucks!!!
    Yes, just as your creative lil brain starts getting extra creative an interruption puts it at a halt.I think this shows why writers are crazy lol. We are so dedicated and so passionate about our work. It's like adrug lol.
    May you be blessed with patience and may MIL find something better to do than coming up with bright ideas!

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  8. Shh, Kris, yer not supposed to tell the Americans what we do with old folks ... You been watching TALKING TO AMERICANS??? Charli peed her pants when I sent Rick Mercer across the border.

    Ambrielle, this was my ledge moment. I don't know at what point I went from being selfish to super mom, but I think I'm about to revert!

    Ah, Martha, me wee off the boat Irish MIL ... she annoys the piss out of me, but would laugh of she read this. Quite the humorous lot we are!

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  9. Rick Mercer- classic! but don't ya know AJ it's all true eh? I just may have to watch it again tonight

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  10. I don't deal well with distractions, lol. If I'm in the middle of a scene and someone interupts me, I get really pissed. I usually growl and say, "I'm typing here!"
    If the phone rings and my husband or kids answer it, I yell out--before they pick up--"If it's for me, tell them I'm outside!"
    Both my kids are teens--14 and 18--so they're usually pretty good now about not bothering me when I'm writing. Yet, even though they are older they still love teasing each other until it turns into a fight.
    Brenda

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  11. Invest in a couple of Legbreakers. I find them quite useful. Muah ha ha ha!

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