The Pain and Pleasure of Writing
I’m just finishing the final book in the Glory Land series, THE RIVER TO GLORY LAND, and my whole body hurts. It’s been a non-stop writing marathon, with the first book, A CORNER IN GLORY LAND, having made its debut this past December, and the second, THE RISING OF GLORY LAND, coming out in June. For nearly two years, I’ve been working on this trilogy, and, prior to that, I wrote the two Appalachian stories. Needless to say, my body is paying the price.
Sitting at the computer, up to twelve hours a day, week after week, month after month, wrecks havoc on your…everything, actually. Though I take plenty of breaks, and I work out aggressively five days I week, there’s still no getting around the fact that for much of the day I’m in my chair at my desk, playing the part of a writer AND contortionist. I find myself sitting in some of the most awkward positions as I’m reading over what I’ve written, or trying to work out the perfect way to write a scene. The Flying Wallendas would be proud.
Usually, I make it a point to see a massage therapist/acupuncturist on a regular basis, but I just haven’t had the time lately to do it and my body is rebelling. When I’m lying there on the table, getting the lumps and bumps massaged away, it hurts so good. My masseuse is a master at releasing those knots and when I get up off the table, I feel as though I’ve grown an extra inch or two simply because I can stand up perfectly straight again. The good news for me is that I will feel this way for a couple of days. The good news for her is that I’ll be back the following week.
Sometimes I stay in my pajamas until noon (okay, even later, I’ll admit it). I’m too busy banging away on the keyboard to worry about odor-free armpits or shiny, bouncy hair. I’m embarrassed to think how many delivery men, bug exterminators, and repair people have seen me at my worst. They hardly recognize me when I’ve actually got on make-up and nice clothes, but the double-takes are almost worth the low expectations and opinions they’ve had of me for so long.
Just this morning, I came into the final lap of my book, and I started thinking about the things I could finally catch up on once I write, “The End.” I need to go check on our little cottage in Beaufort, South Carolina, which I wrote about some months ago in a blog post. I haven’t been back to the little place since I wrote the piece. Lord only knows what little creepy crawlies will have taken up residence there; and how green the algae has gotten on our home’s siding; or if any roof leaks have created some interesting patterns on our ceilings. I guess we’ll soon find out.
I also need to work on a few projects in our log cabin, as well as catch up with friends, and even family I’ve neglected somewhat over this manic time of writing. Plus, I’ll have the time to attend meetings I’ve had to skip at church, as well as a couple of boards I’m on, and my husband will finally get to eat something more elaborate than a frozen pizza or a freezer-burned piece of fish. I’ll be able to travel some, sleep in a little, go shopping (somewhere other than through Amazon), go see a movie…the list goes on and on. So, you’d think with all of these things I’ll finally have the time and freedom to do, I’m looking forward to writing those last two words in my novel, and yet…
Here’s the deal: I’m a writer, and because I am, I’m always looking for the next thing to write about. But I worry that there just might not be one; that my creative juices will have dried up, or that I’ve burned the candle at both ends for so long that there’s hardly a middle left anymore. I guess every writer worries that his or her current story will be the final flash in the pan, and the deep furrows etched in my brow is the proof that I’m no different.
As for me, I’m taking no chances; I’ve already got a synopsis going for my next trilogy. But I know how to balance things out and I’ll be taking some much needed time away from the keyboard as I finally get to enjoy my little low country cottage, bugs n’ all. Oh, did I happen to mention that the next series will be about Beaufort? Who said a writer can’t do a little research during her R & R time? All things considered, I think that’s pretty good balance.