Is time speeding up? It seems like just days ago I was typing up September's post for the IWSG. A huge thanks to our host, Alex Cavanaugh, and his co-hosts this month: Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken! Co-hosting does take time, but besides seeing lots of interesting posts, you will get valuable traffic on you website, so consider volunteering.
This week's optional question: How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?
Image: Celine Nadeau
Distracted Writer Here...Please Hold
Hmm... First I gotta think about what major life events might have occurred while I was writing. There have been illnesses, a move, trips, and various milestones. Honestly, if something comes along that demands my time and attention, writing is kicked to the corner. Characters must wait, zip their lips, cross their knees, whatever...until the crisis in "real world" has passed. It may feel unfair, but I'm not the breadwinner in this household, and thank goodness. I'd make more money collecting loose change off the asphalt of parking lots.
Image: DanDucharme
The doctor will see you now...trot this way.
On another level, do major life events color my writing? Well, yes. I live with a bunch of zebras. No, not the huge black-and-white striped variety, but medical zebras. You see, if something goes wrong, doctors (and vets) have been cautioned to consider common diagnoses before the more rare and unlikely possibilities with the saying, "When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras."
I won't spew out all our medical maladies, since many in my family probably want their privacy, but for example: my husband's splitting headache and vision problems turned out to be a brain tumor (he is fine now.) Also, one of my cats distinguished herself by being the first feline my vet had ever seen with kidney stones after practicing for 24 years.
The idea of a common malady turning out to be something incredibly serious has shown up in my writing more than once. I love stories that start off with characters and situations that seem completely normal and relatable and then take six left turns into the bizarre, terrifying, or supernatural. It's so less fun when it happens in real life though.
Image: Matt Cole
Me, taking a too long break from writing:
Clean your room, do your homework, eat your veggies! Or else!
Has writing helped me through something? I know I am a happier person when I write. Without that creative outlet my alter ego, Grouchy Greta, can take over and make life for me and those unfortunate souls who live in my house quite miserable.
How do you feel when circumstances separate you from writing?
