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jet lag

Fair is Fair. Except When It Comes To Jet Lag

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Jet lag is one of the things in life it is hard to feel grateful for.

Well, I guess that is a large category which includes things like chicken pox and earthquakes. But I’m trying to find something redeeming about having lost track of about five days in the wake of taking the red eye cross country on Wednesday. Jet lag will do that to you.

It wasn’t just that I was sleepy, it was as though my brain had stayed behind on the West coast and had taken a later flight.

Luckily it arrived at my door today, dragging a duffle bag behind it, looking suitably embarrassed. It shuffled its feet and refused to meet my accusing glare, but it didn’t back down either.

After I ushered my brain into the kitchen, I asked it where it had been since last week. Turns out it had been having a lovely time, doing the sorts of things I imagine doing but never seem to get to – learning to ride a horse, shouting “Hellooo” into the Grand Canyon, and perfecting a prickle free cactus.

Meanwhile, I was home doing things like mis-dating checks, accidentally bleaching non-bleach items, and forgetting to put toothpaste on my toothbrush. Looking at my relaxed brain, as it leaned back in the kitchen chair sipping tea and munching on cookies, I couldn’t help but be a bit envious. It looked tan and fit while I felt sort of pasty and over-worked.

Maybe next time I take a vacation, I will leave my brain at home.

Rose Grey has written three romance novels and is hard at work on a fourth. If you liked this post, come visit the rest of the blog at www.rosegreybooks.com. Hot Pursuit and Not As Advertised are available as ebooks and as paperbacks online.

writing space

Writing Space is a Flexible Thing

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Stephen King talks about the importance of having a dedicated writing space. Specifically he recommends choosing a place which allows the writer to shut the door signaling to others and maybe more importantly to himself that he is ready to focus on writing.

I like the idea. Although most of the people I interact with have opposable thumbs so doorknobs are not much of a barrier. Even my dog learned how to give the door a shove with her forehead, just enough to dislodge the latch. The cat never figured it out but he was clever enough to wait until the dog did it for him.

I’m guessing the second line of defense against interruption in your writing space is a stern glare. I have a good glare, although now my children are adults it has grown rusty from lack of use. But even an excellent glare won’t have much impact on a spouse reporting a sudden geyser erupting from a heretofore placid toilet. These things happen when you work at home.

Life has a way of intruding into writing.

For the first few years after our house grew quiet and emptier, I found it too quiet to write there. So the chatter of a coffee shop was important and useful. Then, one day, when the only available seat in the coffee shop was next to a wild haired snaggle-toothed man who was furiously hissing at the vacant chair across from him, I decided the library might be a better bet.

There is a sense of communal endeavor in the library which makes it easy to want to join in.

 

Today I am not writing at home, nor at the library, nor in a coffee shop. My laptop just fits on a tiny table which hovers inches over my lap. My writing space is 30,799 feet in the air. I am sharing an armrest with my eldest son.

I think Mr. King is not talking about a physical space and door necessarily, but a mental one. Writing space is wherever you make it.

Rose Grey has written three romance novels and is hard at work on a fourth. If you liked this post, come visit the rest of the blog at www.rosegreybooks.com. Hot Pursuit and Not As Advertised are available as ebooks and as paperbacks online.