By James Scott Bell
I am temporarily indisposed. Away from my computer and all my ideas for my next blog post. What I have here is a friend’s iPad and only a few moments before I move on.
So please excuse the brevity of this post, and allow me to ask a question: what do you like to do when you’re not writing? Is it something that takes you completely away from scribal concerns? Or is your writer switch always on? (I’ll return next time with more substantial thoughts from this writer’s warehouse.)
I put silly stuff on my cat as she sleeps 24×7. There’s an entire web site devoted to stuff-pilers like me:
Stuff on my Cat
In my day job, I’m a software engineer, so I do a lot of writing, but it’s a different kind of writing. Outside of that, there’s the church stuff. I sing in the choir, occasionally play the piano for the offertory, I’m the church webmaster, I work with the third through sixth grade kids in Awana and sometimes I teach an adult Sunday school class, all of which take some degree of preparation and effort throughout the week. There’s plenty of work to do around the house. I have a vegetable garden. I’m the clerk/treasurer for the local association our church is in and also for an auxiliary of the national association our church is in. I enjoy doing woodworking. I’ve also done some work with stained glass and I also paint pictures from time to time.
Veg. The high stress day job sucks out most of my brain cells, I have a few left over for writing, and after that, whatever time I have I shut down and tune out.
Read, read, and read.
Read, Read, Read!
Oh and once in a while a movie.
Writers never seem to escape … even on vacation. Just spent three weeks on the road with family. Great time and sort of glad to be back in the office. But during the trip I found myself looking around and trying to figure out another story, another idea, another plot. Everyone and everything alway seems to offer new ideas.
No rest for the …. writer.
My writer switch is usually on. I like doing active things when I’m not writing. Right now I’m packing for a 10-day wilderness sea kayaking trip. Some of my stories are set in the backcountry so the hands-on experience is a big plus.
When I’m at home and not writing, I read lots of books, watch movies, exercise, and visit w/friends.
I read a lot. Watch baseball and hockey. The writing engine is always running in the back of my mind and rarely requires conscious interference from me.
Read, then read some more.
I draw, or I knit. Can’t seem to get away from creativity, it seems.
Read, catch a fun new movie, and ride my motorcycle. It’s funny, but when I ride I am quite relaxed and my mind is usually comfortably observing the world around me, thinking of what ifs, thinking about how to express it all in writing and oft times it is a great time to run though writing ideas and options. Sometimes I wish I had a voice activated recorder for it (it would be too noisy anyway), and I hope to remember and have the energy left to jot everything down when we stop for the night.
When not working, writing, or reading – I’m in the water – under the water – next to the water – boating on the water – or flying above the water.