Jessie: Still in New Hampshire, at least until the school year ends…
A lot of things about being a writer and the writing process have surprised me over the years. The joy of purposeful creative pursuits, the pleasure of engaging with other writers, the tax write-offs allowed at office supply stores. But one thing I still find I haven’t gotten used to is the decision making.
When you write a book or a short story or even a blog post, there are a lot of decisions involved. There are the over-arching ideas, sub-plots, verb choices and the cadence of the dialogue. There are the plot points, main points and exclamation points. Every single thing requires a decision either large or small.
I turned in a book on June 1, and while I think of myself as a very decisive person, I am still wrung out from the simple act of choosing things again and again in order to complete it. Since then, when I am hungry I find myself staring into the open fridge without the ability to pick something to eat. I didn’t get out of my pajamas all day yesterday simply because I could not make myself select anything else to wear as I peered into my closet.
I thought I had at least managed to make a decision when it came to a new knitting project. I had started a zippy green pair of socks for a dear friend but Sampson, the poodle puppy, got ahold of the first one while it was under construction and not only yanked off most of the stitches but also snapped two of the four required knitting needles. I don’t seem to have any others that same size and cannot for the life of me decide to order a new set.
At the beginning of August the lease is coming due on my car and I have to decide what to choose as a replacement. All I can say is that I sincerely hope I’ve recovered enough by then to make a decision!
Readers, do you have trouble with decisions? Writers, do you get worn out at any part in the writing process? Everyone, any recommendations for a car?