The Nature of Time (and Your Chance to Read the Book I'm Currently Writing)
On Tuesday morning, our oldest son came into my office and we watched the clock turn its way every so slowly towards 10:30 a.m. Then, at that precise time, we clicked refresh on the computer screen and began registering him for his first semester of college courses.
This simple act of choosing classes gave me a whirling sort of lighter-than-air feeling for many reasons, not least because nearly 25 years ago, in the fall of 1997, his mother and I spoke for the first time on that very campus, the one he’s heading off to. I was taking 18 credits that semester, and of my six classes, five were with this beautiful girl, Maile Silva. On one fateful day, during a walk across an open grassy area on campus (an area that has since been replaced with a bright, new, shining building), I realized she was some distance behind me, so I stopped to tie my shoe, allowing her time to catch up. We talked about Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Now we sleep in the same bed and talk about writing all the time and have six children.
Here’s a photo of us from those long ago days:
One of the classes he chose for this fall is with a professor I had, Samuel Smith, someone who became a friend and mentor to me during my college years.
Time, time, time is always passing. I see it most acutely in my children, growing and changing in front of me, and in the cycle of seasons, and in my parents, who were my age when our oldest son was born.
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What shall we do with time? How shall we approach it?
Eight years ago, I posted this on Facebook:
That would eventually become my guiding light: I knew I had a lot to learn (still do), and the only way I would get better was through repetition, training, and writing more and more words. I’ve written well over a million words since then, including seven novels. I’m on track for ten in ten years. Maile and I talked about this idea of having a long-term view on our podcast this week, Creative Goals and the Life of a Writing Mama.
I guess what I’m trying to say with all of this is settle into the long slow work in front of you. Allow yourself time to get better at that which you love to do. This journey is a long one, stretched out over years, measured by decades—let the journey do its good and patient work in you.
May was a fun month over at our podcast, The Stories Between Us. Here are a few of the episodes we released last month:
S6E19 Devi Laskar Does It Again
S6E20 Writing for the Fun of It
S6E21 That Thing That Will Transform Your Creative Life
S6E22 Take What You've Learned...and Make it Yours
Finally, next week marks a new phase in my “Video of a Novel” series. I’m moving from first draft writing to revising, and I’m inviting you into my process. My new posting schedule (for paying subscribers) will be:
Monday: Post a chapter of the book I’m currently writing in its rough draft form
Tuesday: Record a video describing the changes I’d like to make to the chapter
Friday: Post the revised chapter
So, whether you’re interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at one writer’s revision process, or if you simply want to read the book I’m currently writing in serialized form, make sure you’re a paying subscriber ($7 / month) and you’ll be included on these emails, starting Monday.
You can subscribe below if you haven’t already.