Writing the Life

20 Comments /

I’ve been long obsessed with living the writing life, with being a writer. I’ve read books by writers such as Annie Dillard, Stephen King, William Zinsser and others, and have picked up on some of their ideas. I’ve tried to insulate myself from real life in order to dedicate myself more completely to my private writing world. It’s been a selfish attempt on my part, but it was the only way I knew to attack it.

Over the Christmas season, I had to put my writing aside for a time in order to concentrate on family, food and celebration. I enjoyed it, of course, but it was difficult to re-enter my writing world. I had no ideas, no passion, no enthusiasm. Had I not applied myself enough to my writing world? Had I been too long in the real world, neglecting my writing life?

My daughter, me, my mom
My daughter, me, my mom

In my musings about this conundrum, I realized something: my real life is the one I need to live. My grandchildren, some living only a mile away, are growing quickly, and I want to spend more time with them. I need to keep up with my friends and the rest of my family. My 94-year old mother needs my attention. Even though her assisted living suite is lovely, she is a province away from her children and very lonely. We have a roomy house with only the two of us living in it, so we’ve invited her to move in with us.

What will happen to my writing life? I can’t say for sure, but I’m expecting it will be fine. As I move forward in my real life, investing myself in the lives of others, I find my motivation for writing more focused, my enthusiasm growing, and my ideas flowing. I don’t want to live in two worlds anymore.

One thing I know, I’ll certainly have more experiences to write about, and maybe I’ll learn to use my time more efficiently.

TWEETABLES:

I don’t want to live in two worlds anymore.

I want to invest in the lives of others.

20 thoughts on “Writing the Life”

  2. Deanna Robertson

    Good morning, Jan. A lovely new post. Good on ya! Say hi to your mom, and Wayne. and we’ll visit soon?

    Take care, all the best, Dee

    >

  4. Ruth L. Snyder

    Thanks for sharing, Janice. I relate completely to this post. At times there seems to be a tug of war between the world of writing and real life, but when we submit ourselves and our time to God, He works it all out.

    Praying that God will bless you today and make you a blessing.

  5. authorruth

    Wise move, Janice! I expect you will get all kinds of inspiration having your mom with you and interacting with your grandchildren. I’ll look forward to the output!

  6. sharonespeseth

    I love the photo of the three of you. What a lovely resemblance I see in all of you. To me, this picture is emblematic of the love you have for your family and, I believe, that God can make this work well. As you are a blessing to others, may you also be blessed.

      1. Jeanne Heal Osolinsky

        Still doing short stories. Another one (“Training Wheels”) just came out in the April issue of St. Anthony Messenger, and I’ve sent sent in an article to Fellowscript for publication in September on “Writing the Christian Short Story.” Wanted to go to the conference in Regina last month but Hubby was just out of hospital so I figured I’d better stay close to home. Balance, again!

        1. Janice L. Dick

          Would have been nice to see you in Regina, but I understand your priorities. Good for you with the short stories and the submissions. Will look for your piece in Fellowscript in fall. Since my book came out earlier this year, I have done little writing besides these blogposts. I find them stretching and challenging, but I do need to do more fiction. I have promised the next book will be ready by end of year or beginning of next, so lots of work ahead.

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top