Tuesdays with Taryn
Revisit with Judy Alter
Please help me in welcoming back mystery author (and fellow TMPer), Judy Alter as she shares with us about her writing pattern- Take it away Judy!
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What’s your writing pattern?
Lately an aphorism has been making
the rounds on Facebook: “A writer never has a vacation. Life consists of either
writing or thinking about writing.” I wholeheartedly agree, especially if you
add marketing under the umbrella of “thinking about writing.” Writers can no
longer just write. They have lots of other responsibilities to their
careers—social media, writing guest blogs, planning launches and ordering
bookmarks and flyers and ad infinitum.
What concerns me these days is the
lack of actual writing time. I am retired and theoretically I stay home all day
every day—plenty of time to write. In reality it doesn’t work out that way. I
admire writers who sit at their desk every day, without fail, from six in the
morning until noon or six at night until midnight. I simply can’t do it. Life
gets in the way.
Last week I was on a writing spurt. I
totaled about 10,000 words for the week. This week (and this is Thursday) I
have not written one more word on that novel, though I have jotted down notes
for future directions it will take—those three o’clock in the morning thoughts.
Yes, I’m always thinking about it. But I’ve been writing guest blogs about Trouble
in a Big Box, my newest Kelly
O’Connell Mystery just now available. I’ve been co-editing a neighborhood
newsletter—why do I have the sinking feeling that I will someday find myself
editor, that this is a gentle way to edge me into that responsibility? I’ve
been welcoming visitors to our church, either by email or phone call.
And then there are those pesky doctor
appointments, the grocery store, and the like. Today alone, by nine-thirty I
had been to the veterinary clinic, CVS pharmacy, the cleaners, the gas station,
and the grocery store. And I really do try to do yoga every day—it keeps me
from aching and other age-related problems (I admit I’m what they pretty much
call a senior citizen, though there’s some debate about when that
classification kicks in and I may not quite be there yet, depending on your
point of view).
I also try to blog daily, and now
that school has started, I have a first-grader every afternoon. He goes to
school right across the street from my house, and we have snacks, do homework,
and all that. I adore him and am glad to give the time, but it is about a
two-hour chunk out of my day.
And social life. I am not a reclusive
writer. I live alone, so my social life is important to me. This week’s
schedule: guests for dinner Monday (this meant cooking, though not an elaborate
meal); dinner at the local café with neighbors, a Tuesday ritual; Wednesday, a
very special evening at a wine bar with my youngest daughter—just the two of
us; dinner with a friend Thursday (we try to eat together and catch up once a
week); potluck at my daughter’s house for her friends on Friday—they are lovely
to welcome the old lady; and company Saturday night.
I chastise myself for not writing,
but then another part of me argues that this is what retirement should be
about—doing the things I enjoy. And much as I love writing, I cannot do it all
day every day. After about a two-hour stretch, my brain frizzles, though I can
on “good” days do two of those stretches. Those are the days I write 2,000
words of more. But it worries me that I write in fits and starts. Some part of
my conscience says I should write daily—and last week I did set a daily quota
of 1,000 words and met it. It’s just that went out the window this week, and
next week isn’t looking a lot better.
I’m not sure I want my publisher to
read this!
How about you? Do you have a better
schedule than I do? Maybe if I gave up those afternoon naps….
Kelly O’Connell Mysteries
Police officer Mike Shandy says that
Kelly O’Connell has a real talent for trouble. She maintains that she’s looking
out for her daughters and her beloved older, inner-city neighborhood. He says
she should let the police do their work and stay out of things. She argues that
she would if they’d move fast enough and act on the tips she gives them. She
has been vandalized, stalked, almost shot, almost asphyxiated, and faced an
unwanted one-way trip to Mexico. Kelly is drawn into crime-solving by her
curiosity, her compassion, and her outrage at injustice. Every time she
thinks things will settle down, life
throws another puzzling crime in her direction.
Check out Judy's Kelly O'Connell Mysteries on her
Review of Skeleton in a Dead Space-
An endearing sleuth,
a skeleton behind the spice cupboard, and a fistful of subplots that will
keep you guessing. A nicely done debut by an author to watch.--Susan Wittig
Albert, author of the China Bayles mysteries
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You can also find out more about Judy on her website and you can meet Kelly O'Connell in the FREE short story "The Village Gaarden"~downloadable on Judy's site here in pdf.
