Changing Times

So, the past month, well the past year really, has brought with it a lot of change. Some have been good, others have been tearful, and on a few the jury is still out. The next few months are going to have their share of them, too, I think. The most recent has totally shaken up my calendar and my hours.

As many of you know, the past few years for me had involved a few health battles that I have been blessed to if not completely overcome be able to lessen and find a way to push through. One of the side effects of these was that for several years I had been unable to work full time.

I had filed for disability and begun to jump through those hoops but since I had made the mistake of "improving" that just wasn't going to happen.

Earlier this month I went back to work full time. Not the part time, flexible hours, or work from home whenever you want to type thing that I had been fortunate to have made available to me during the past, but a 9 to 5, insurance and benefits, rigidly scheduled, clock punching job.

Now, I have still found myself to be very blessed. I can't say that I have a single co-worker that I can't stand; in fact, most of them I honestly enjoy being around. I love learning new things and having new challenges. The benefits are good by today's standards. They actually sat me down on day one and said here are all the different career paths with our company, is there any that you are interested in pursuing because we want to help you get where you'd like to go. Granted, I could stand to earn more, but really who couldn't? And, it comes with candy!

You might be thinking, ok Tray this all sounds like a good thing, but why are you writing about this then and what's with the picture of all the clocks?

Well, with a full time job, a part time job, family, friends, a house to keep... how do you find the time to do what you love?

Another blessing in my life this year has been this writing journey. I count myself fortunate to have met Selena who knows so well when to encourage me and when to push me into the fire. You see, Selena is a real life Professor Dreamfinder, she helps people to collect their dreams and create new experiences. She unlocks your imagination and shows you the hidden wonders that the world has waiting for you just beyond your fingertips. I don't think I would have taken this journey without here there to show me the beginning.

That led me to this wonderful association with BigSmallTown Books; Dustin, Aimee, and my fellow authors (How thrilling it is to get to say that word and know it means me, too!) who have encouraged me and helped me to learn more while we molded and shaped my stories.

This year I was beyond fortunate to have the time to explore the creative, to develop a writing process. Mostly it involved no one else around, in the dark at 3 a.m. with quiet wordless music and a cup of tea. But, a 9-5 job is not conducive to a three a.m. writing session.

Also a blessing in my life has been the Scranton NaNoWriMo group, affectionately called the Scrimos. These guys and their ML Maryah have been so great to me. Creative friends with similiar dreams and all kinds of personalities, they made moving to a new area a heck of a lot better. These are the people that share my excitement for these things and understand the stresses and glories of having imaginary worlds and people inside your head. It will be with them that I will get to celebrate the launch of new projects and the successes of old ones.

Which brings me to NaNoWriMo and the actual theme behind this post...

I am beyond excited for this year's NaNoWriMo! If you don't know what that means, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every year hundreds of thousands of authors set aside their November for the goal of writing a new novel. Local area groups have write-ins and sessions to push each other and help along the way.

So another change to things this year is how I am approaching this month of writing. Normally I pick up a pen and a legal pad, or set down at the keyboard with a blank document and let the words take off, seeing where they lead me. They call this being a "panster", a fly by the seat of your pants type of creator.

The other type of writer is the "Plotter". They approach writing much like I approach the rest of life, with research and notes, outlines and lists. Well with the new demands on my time, and the fact that the project I have elected is one that has established characters from another of my works, I find myself moving from Panster to Plotter. I have spent my September researching and outlining. I have stacks of notes sitting on my desk. For once I actually know the ending before I write the first word.

Time scheduling has necessitated other changes, too, and many of those I don't have answers for yet. When am I going to write? Where will I find time? How do I fit it into this schedule of a now busy life? Somehow I don't think that 3 a.m. writing sessions will mesh well with a 6:30 wake up time.

I've never really been one to write with people around, either. Most of them are asleep at 3 a.m. so no one interrupts. People are awake when I am now! How do other authors cope with noise and ringing phones and beeping texts and talking people and...and...and.... oh dear!

*Takes a deep breath*

So, I guess this book will have a new writing process... and I will learn to carve out time for the thing that I have come to love (and lets face it, sometime hate) ........Writing.