I’m a social writer. I don’t so much need to be chatting with fellow writers (though that can be nice too) but I like writing in public places. Panera used to work very well for me, but the energy in my local shops hasn’t been quite right. Oddly, I’ve had some very profitable days in Applebee’s restaurants. And lately… the Bourse Food Hall in Philadelphia.
It’s all part of an attempt to reconnect with what I loved about writing (while getting my …stuff together). I’ve joined and participated now in a few local writing group events, and I think it’s working. I certainly feel more productive than I have in a while. Perhaps this is just a flow period in the cycle of tides, but for the moment, I intend to ride the wave some.
Given my lack of physical balance, this is the closest I’ll ever get to surfing. Or even paddle boarding….
It occurred to me yesterday during my time at the Bourse that a big issue I’m having, beyond the multitude of open projects I have going, is disconnection. Not just in an interpersonal sense, but in my general affairs. I have several notebooks, several computers, several cameras… stuff scattered pretty much everywhere. It used to be manageable, a way of sorting things in its own way However tidbits kept escaping the borders of their space and invading the space of others… I might use a cell phone camera instead of dragging along the Canon for a day’s outing, or I might write some story ideas down in my freewriting journal instead of adding them into a story file (especially when I’m out)…. I got careless. I didn’t sort all my files when I needed to upgrade a computer and made copies on our server as backups.
So, following my recognition on Sunday that this is not and should not be a growth year (or at least a growth round) for me, I’m continuing the deeper dive into things. It also means a review of my goals that I began this ROWnd with. Had December gone more according to plan… well, who knows? It didn’t. The change is still useful.
So… updated goals:
- Continue to freewrite daily; aim for at least three pages or 20 minutes BICHOP
- Maintain the ROW80 blog and update pages and info as I can
- Spend an hour daily, five days a week, sorting computer files (photos, notes, etc.)
- Spend an hour daily typing in notebooks, five days a week
- Reading… focus on reducing the “presently reading” list by finishing the library books (the hold up here is that several are non-fiction for research purposes, and those can be slow going when I’m taking copious notes or cross referencing details)
- Update name blog and test it for “digestibility“
- Learn the ins and outs of the Fediverse (Mastodon, Diaspora, etc.)
- Maintain a weekly sabbath, a day where I do not NEED to do anything at least
I’d like to have the blogs finished by the end of this ROWnd. The others will be ongoing. I’m not super keen on adding yet another set of social media worlds to maintain, yet I understand the drive to back away from the main players such as Twitter, FB, Google, etc., more for others than myself. And I know that by at least visiting these places on occasion it’s possible to reach fellow creatives (and old friends like former fellow ROWer Mike Young).
Many Worlds From Many Minds 
It’s definitely always good to figure out what works best for you. I don’t think I’d be able to write around a lot of other people. I get overwhelmed very easily by noise(and not so much volume, the worst is actually a lot of different noises), and even at home, I need my noise-cancelling headphones, even with just two(older, and not usually too loud) kids. Glad it’s working for you, though. I have found, though, that writing sprints on zoom actually help me a lot.
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I’m almost the complete opposite. I can block out random cacophony, but online sprints of any kind are actually hard for me. I do them, but I think it’s because I get so overwhelmed by the sounds around that I instinctively shut them out…. maybe, don’t know.
We definitely all have our quirks. 🙂
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