In a comment to my post Life Gets in the Way and Other Realities of the Human (Writer’s) Condition, a thoughtful writer mentioned Judy Collins and the song “Who Knows Where the Time Goes,” written by the incredibly talented Sandy Denny. This song plays in the background of my life constantly. Most of us cannot get enough of the intangible commodity of time. You can’t get time back once it passes. You can borrow time, trade time to do one thing for another, but you can’t make it grow. And you can’t store it or save it. It’s finite. So we have to work with what we have.
Dictionary.com provides 64 entries for time. Twenty-six are definitions for time used as a noun, four as an adjective, six as a verb, and 28 are idioms.
- The first idiom is “against time, in an effort to finish something within a limited period,” such as She works against time to finish her novel.
- Idiom #45: “from time to time, on occasion; occasionally; at intervals,” such as From time to time, her blog diverts attention away from her novel.
- Idiom #44: “for the time being, temporarily; for the present,” as in For the time being, she is taking a break from blogging to focus on her novel.
You get the picture. Ten to 12 hours a week to devote to writing isn’t much – an hour and a half max each morning before my J-O-B and several hours each weekend day, wedged between the rest of life’s responsibilities. If you had any idea of how slowly I write, you’d realize that I am truly working against time!
Currently, I only post here from time to time, on occasion. I tend to focus my limited writing time on my novel. We have to work with what we have.
So, unable to post on a routine schedule anyway, I am making this temporary break ‘official’ in order to rid myself of the niggling guilt of ‘neglecting’ my blog. So for the time being, my posts may be even more occasional. But I am not gone for good. I’m using my time wisely.
If you aren’t familiar with Sandy Denny, a prolific writer and musician who was lost to us far too early, there are many versions of her singing “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” on YouTube (and lots of mixes), but this one is my favorite for her haunting voice and guitar strumming.
This link is for Sandy’s demo cut of the song. I love this one for the pics.
Nina Simon did her own version as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZa3XsHA6UU
But Eva Cassidy’s rendition is probably the best known currently. She really belts it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xv5t70u-ZI&NR=1
Enjoy them all. Listening will be time well spent.
If you have a favorite Sandy Denny song or a favorite song (or movie or book) about time, I’d love to know about it. Please share any tips or advice with other writers/readers here on how you maximize time or even let us know your favorite ways to kill time.
So until next time…
PS One of my favorite movies is “Somewhere In Time.”
Mar 09, 2011 @ 16:22:27
Cute post, Gina.
Even as a kid I felt the press of time. I never walked from one room to another, I ran, literally resenting the time lost in moving from one place to another. Even now I worry I fritter away too much time thinking, absorbing, and trying to feel my way through the many challenges we face as writers. And yet, I have more time than most to pursue this career.
I am in awe of each of you who work full-time and still make time to write. You go, girl!
My favorite ways to maximize time are:
Not making the bed. (You’re just going to get in it and mess it up again tonight.)
Taking lots of green tea and coffee breaks. (I move much quicker after one of those.)
Watching — er, STUDYING — old movies while I eat lunch. (Can’t beat them for dialogue and cutting techniques between scenes.)
Ordering takeout. (No dish washing required.)
Dangling chocolate as a reward for completing the scene. (The darker the chocolate, the faster I produce.)
Skipping exercise. (not exercising requires much less time than actual exercise. And think of all the time you save not having to shop for smaller clothes. Not to mention all the shower-time you save.)
Mar 12, 2011 @ 01:55:33
Time can accumulate as well–and it does so on the page. I wrote my first four novels in hour and a half increments before jumping into my clothes and heading to work.
Leaving a written record may be one of the few ways to preserve time.
Like a fly caught in amber we freeze fleeting moments and hold them still for others to admire.
I look forward to reading every page of “Dancing at the Orange Peel” slowly.
Adrian