Total Immersion

Most of the time, we’re like leaves skittering across the surface of life, missing its cool, quiet depths. We see, but we spend very little time being still long enough to make sense of what we’ve seen – putting it all together. We scoot along, getting briefly wet, and then, with the slightest puff of air, allow ourselves to be lifted off again.

When I write, I need to get to the bottom of that pond-slowly drifting down. Then all those interesting things I’ve seen along my journey, all those thoughts that have been tumbling around in my head –  all those other ponds I’ve visited – have time to come together and be expressed in my story.

Early morning works well for me, as it does for many writers – probably because no one else is up yet. While the rest of the world sleeps, I get my coffee, open up the french doors, breathe in the cool air, check out the fading moon, and then get to work.

I selfishly love this time. I get to go play in my make believe world. I get to tell hard truths. I get to put my characters in challenging situations. I get to be completely honest.

We don’t always have the luxury of that kind of physical quiet. There are times when I have to find a way to get to the bottom of that pond at a coffee shop or a hotel room on the road, or my daughter and son-in-law’s patio table with the dogs asleep at my feet. I may have to wear ear plugs, or listen to Tchaikovsky in the background, but as long as it’s white noise or background noise I don’t have to attend to, I can get there. Usually…

Focus is critical. We have been led to believe that we can do 15 things at once. Multitasking is going back and forth between doing laundry, watering the garden, updating my budget, calling my Dad, and doing the dishes – but I am not doing all of things at once. That would be impossible. And if I’m doing any of those things, it’s not likely I will be able to hold complicated plot lines or ‘listen’ to dialogue on my head long enough to get it down on the page. You really have to get into a story in order to write. I think you need to block out at least an hour – 30 minutes you’re just getting into it.

I’ve never understood why anyone is enamored of multitasking. Taking pride in trying to do 15 things at once, just like working long hours, or making a lot of money, is a purely American idea, and not a particularly admirable one.