by Jane M. Choate
Now that we’ve looked at what I am doing, let’s examine what I’m not doing. Have those things, too, helped revitalize my writing? Maybe. So what am I spending less time doing?
Cleaning
I’m spending less time cleaning house. No, I haven’t let the house be condemned by the Board of Health, but I’m realizing more of what is important … and what’s not. Spending less time cleaning house has been great. Not only do I have more energy and time for life’s important moments, I also haven’t experienced any noticeable change in lifestyle. Post-pandemic, the house isn’t perfectly clean; that’s a given.
But neither was it perfectly clean pre-pandemic. I was scrubbing, dusting, vacuuming, etc., all for a false sense of self-worth. Now, I work to keep the house comfortable and semi-decent. My happiness level shot up, as did my time to daydream about the next book or noodle around with ideas for trying a different genre.
Accumulating
I’m spending less time accumulating more things. Spending less time in accumulation is just practical. Having a bunch of things means more dusting those things, more re-arranging those things, more trying to find room for those things. My time is much better spent playing with grandchildren and writing.
worrying
- I’m spending less time worrying over if I will sell more books. I will do my best in my writing, but I’m not going to obsess over it. Using less emotional energy to worry over if I’ll ever sell another book gives me the courage to take risks in my writing. Could I add a more in-depth scene to my latest book and would the editor like it? We’ll see.
- I’m spending less time worrying over what others think of me. Spending less time on this has been infinitely freeing. (How else could I carry off having blue hair for over two years?) In my seventies now, I realized I had spent far too much of my life anguishing over what others thought of me. No more.
FINALLY
I have no presumption that what works for me will work for you. These are just a few of the things I am doing differently now. Whether they make me a better writer is yet to be seen, but they are making me a better person.
What works for you?
Jane M. Choate dreamed of writing since she was a little girl and entertained her friends with made-up stories about them. She postponed her dream of writing to get married and have children. On one particularly hard day when it seemed all she had done was to clean toilets (she had two small boys at the time), she wrote a short story and sent it in to a magazine on a whim. To her surprise and delight, it was accepted.
Jane now writes for Love Inspired Suspense where she combines romance, danger, and faith. Jane is the mother of five children, grandmother to ten grandchildren, and great-grandmother to one adorable baby girl. When she is not writing, she can be found trying to keep up with her grandchildren. (The operative word there is “trying.”)
You won’t want to miss Jane’s latest release–Rocky Mountain Vendetta–A must read that spent 2 weeks on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List!
(c) 2022 by Jane M. Choate
Jane and Karen, great things NOT to do. I think the pandemic taught us all many things. Cheers
Marilyn, I definitely agree!