Things happen occasionally that cause us to pause and examine what we are doing with our lives. At least for me – in my little life – I hope they do, because unlike my friend Adrian who keeps her Slow Dance Journal, I am unable to sustain, for endless stretches, a calm attentiveness to my priorities. The thorny brambles of self-imposed gotta-do’s and inescapable obligations grow before me until I can no longer distinguish my path. At least twice a year, I must force myself to retrieve the machete from the shed and whack away until I uncover that path and can again see my way clear. When I neglect to do this of my own volition, life does it for me.
. . . And so it went, two weekends ago, when I rushed my husband to the emergency room with an attack of appendicitis. I can hear some of you: It was only appendicitis! Why the melodrama? Well, while it thankfully never became life-threatening, the surgery was not a ‘normal’ procedure. Those four days in the hospital, I camped out in an abomination of a recliner beside his bed, attempting to sleep when he slept and trying to keep up on work (‘thanks’ to laptop and wifi) – but still I had a lot of time to think.
I am sharpening my machete this weekend. The brambles have been choking me. I am examining the overgrowth to determine what deserves chopping first. Some things I will pull out at the roots and rid myself of completely. Some I will cut back to the ground and allow to lie dormant until a time when I can manage their growth. What I allow to remain must be those things that will enhance my walk through life, not get in my way.
Trying to figure out what to do with this blog has been one of the thorny brambles. If I heed the advice of the social media experts, the efforts they demand would require me to quit my bill-paying-day-job just to keep up with it and do it ‘right’. Not an option, at least not right now.
The publishing industry and the book world in general are experiencing massive transformation on an almost daily basis as bookstores fold, publishers question the need for their existence; writers increasingly keep control of their own material through self-publishing and e-books, and by managing their own marketing and publicity; and agents try to determine where they fit in. Everyone is trying to figure out technology’s role in all of this. It is both the cause and the effect. It helps and hinders. It can either be a guiding element on our path as writers or a brier that trips us up.
The characters in my novel are devoid of technology. An AM-FM radio in the car and a color television (yes, living color!) are the innovations of their day. And they get along just fine.
So how do you use technology? Do you find it to be an enhancement in your life or an annoying distraction? Feel free to share any suggestions you have for how to co-exist with it or survive without it.
And if you have 6 minutes and 10 seconds, check out the You Tube video “you need to get off Facebook.” Pay attention to the dude’s subtle facial expressions and remember who your friends are. Writers also may want to learn How To Stop The Internet From Sabotaging Your Writing Routine.
Till next time!
Feb 05, 2011 @ 19:24:18
Gina, I keep up my blog with lots of doubts. It takes tons of time and its main saving grace is that I love writing the essays for it. This morning I planted onions, which is about as advanced a technology as my soul, in its most honest moments, confesses it wants to do.
The generation that comes after us won’t have a choice. They will be born knowing how to use the internet, how to multitask without feeling insane. We still stand most solidly in a world with a slower pace. A real world with scents and sounds and onions to be planted. I too am struggling to figure out the currency of this new technology. Time is the only coin I have. How much am I willing to spend connecting with “friends” and “career” through a screen? I don’t know–but definitely not as much as is recommended by the get-ahead gurus who say that social media will connect us with our readers. When are we supposed to write the book? When in doubt do something tangible, like planting onions.
Feb 08, 2011 @ 01:50:36
I grew up a tomboy: picking blackberries, building tree forts, running wild in the woods. Even when I read it was up in a tree in the crook of a wide limb, one foot swinging, one foot propped. In the summer I roamed as far as my feet could carry me, exploring everything from ants to entire forests and only returning home as the last light slipped from the sky.
The first computer we brought into our home was exciting. As parents, we were thrilled to see how easily our children took to this keyboard and box that had so much to teach them. But as they grew older and moved into high school, I worried about the amount of time they spent in front of the screen. The virtual world seemed a poor substitute for friends and actual life.
In a few more years they grew up, gained independence, and thanks to information gleaned from the internet, they now travel confidently all over the earth exploring a much wider world than I’d had access to as a child. They outgrew using their computer as a substitute for living and now use it to expand their experience of life.
As a newcomer to Facebook and blogging, I feel I am being sucked into a space where time disappears and I spend too much time reading about how others live rather than living myself. But I think perhaps this over saturation is a necessary first step we all have to take. Eventually we will have explored the virtual world and learned how to find our way efficiently to the places that enhance our lives, rather than steal them.
Either way, I’m buying a timer and putting it next to the computer.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 22:31:18
Hi, Gina,
In these last few months, I’ve been getting to know Leigh and Adrian, as I write with them and occasionally, we email. I count them as friends.
Today, my dog, Cooper, and I went to St. Mark’s; I just knew there was going to be a spot of sun at some point in the day, and I wanted us to be in it. No more laptop screens for us. Besides, Emma Rose, a grey-blue dilute, calico kitty, wanted us out of the house.
To tell you the truth, my “new” prescription sunglasses played tricks on us all afternoon but Cooper didn’t care. He’s hound, mostly beagle, and there were enough scents to keep him busy. And, I didn’t care, either. Finally, I was trying out a camera I bought two years ago–got a good deal, and now I know why–the technology never made it but I used the automatic zoom and pointed. It worked. Not perfectly, but it worked.
Here I am back at a laptop screen and a familiar keyboard whose “e” key is already missing some of its lettering. Reminds me of junior high typing class when no keys had any letters. Wear and tear, wear and tear.
I admire you, Leigh and Adrian for writing blogs. It’s all I can do to keep writing, and I’ve made my peace with that. Just know you have someone cheering for all of you!
Now, I’m going to look around your blog.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 21:53:00
Hi Karen, Welcome to my blog. I am happy you stopped in and hope you enjoy it. I’m still trying to figure out just where I’m going with it because my book is my BIG priority right now. Leigh and Adrian mentioned you at our last Wednesday Night Writers meeting. They both appreciate your thoughtful and well-written comments on their blogs. I hope you visit again. Thanks for cheering us on, keeping writing, and don’t let the missing “e” get you down!
Feb 13, 2011 @ 12:29:47
Thanks, Gina, for the warm welcome. It’s always great to have a cyberspace place to visit; I’ll try to come with my mug at least half full.
The technology thread (I originally typed threat) weaves in and out of your, Adrian and Leigh’s blogs–when to stay, when to go, where the heart is–for days, I have hummed “who knows where the time goes,” remembering the days of Judy Collins’ plaintive, pre-Internet lyrics.
Your blogs–these virtual worlds–offer prospective readers a look at what lurks between the covers of your books, be they electronic or bound tangibly.
To spend the time and where, who knows, indeed.
Feb 13, 2011 @ 15:07:48
I ask myself almost daily “Where does the time go?” Thank you for the reminder about this beautiful Sandy Denny song. Judy Collins released it on an album in November 1968 during the timeframe of my novel (it begins in April 1968), so you have given me book fodder! Actually, post fodder too. Come back here again with your half-full mug and we can spend some more time on this together! Thank you, Karen!
Feb 13, 2011 @ 15:46:30
Sandy Denny lyrics, yes! Thanks for reminding me. These days, Eva Cassidy sings it to me, which is a story in my book.
Feb 13, 2011 @ 15:50:22
Outrageous! I just checked out the Eva Cassidy version on YouTube before reading your reply. That’s just freaky. I hope I get to read that story in your book!
Mar 05, 2011 @ 15:11:33