After a long day of having people need me almost constantly, I plod through the side door of my little country home with all the ambition of a work mule who has pulled and plow all day long. My brain is toast and my legs feel as if they are pushing through two feet of water. I want nothing more than to eat what my wife has cooked and fall into my recliner with some beer.
But the day is not over. The daughter needs help with her homework. The wife needs help with the laundry or the dishes. The oldest (a driving teenager) needs help with his truck. Whatever. Something comes up and another hour or so of my day is gone.
Then the recliner and the beer beckons to me. I fall into it. It is Heaven, as if Angels had carried to my new resting place, laid me there, and wrapped me in a warm breeze. It feels good. I want to stay there. Writing is not even on my mind at this point.
That feeling does not last for long, however. As the warmth of the beer melts the day off my mind, a new warmth settle into me, a new warmth and urge. Soon, even though I came through the door with nothing on my mind but turning my mind off, I realize it is not to be turned off. Not ever. Without even realizing it, I am on the laptop once again, with music from my headphones drowning out the noise around me, my fingers tapping the keys once again.
Tonight and last night, I worked on a short story rewrite. Tonight I also completed this new blog.
What are your days like? Do you feel like writing is the last thing on your mind when you come home? Do you then feel enlightened when you do start the words flowing? Do you feel like you have cheated yourself out of you place of serenity if you do not write?
Please let me know.
Timkeen40's Blog 
I wish I had a recliner to fall into…
It is a good thing to have.
Thanks for stopping by.
I feel like the day is incomplete when I don’t write now. When it’s choosing between writing very badly and not writing, it usually feels better to write.
YES! I am cheated if I cannot spill an artery onto paper daily! It’s my way to close out my day and usher in sleep!!!!!
Lol, I somehow even double liked this post! That’s how much I agree with you 🙂
Thanks. I am glad you liked it.
Tim
An interaction with a teenager/my friend’s cousin, recently made me realize that writing and maintaining feels like an obsession! He does not have one, but he gave me his observations and I was surprised.. Of course, at that point, I did not want to tell him that I own one – as I needed to determine for myself if I was indeed obsessed about it 😉
But, bottom line, I feel like I have this urge to write, to read my fellow bloggers, get inspired, but as you have experienced for yourself, live does seem to get in the way.. Ha ha..
Good luck!
Hi Tim.
I enjoyed your post & those final questions certainly got me thinking.
Having retired just over a year and a half ago it is great not to have that exhausted feeling after a hard day’s work – with me the busyness of the day often meant I never made it off the recliner once the Angels had led me there!
Nowadays I have the luxury of being able to write whenever I want to & the great thing is that I want to a lot. One of my favourite places is the local coffee shop where I can write and dream to my hearts content.
I’m off now to read some of your other posts.
Mike,
Thanks for the look see. I hope you find more of my posts that you like. I am glad that you have the time to write at your leisure. Of course, that is every writer’s dream, I think.
Tim
My days are filled with writing, reading, visualizations of my goal, writing, reading, writing and oh yes..more writing..lol..It’s all we do as authors. Nothing else..nothing more. And then the family drama and the business side of our writing…Yeah..it never ends.
I look forward to being able to do the same things. Thanks for giving me a read.
Tim
Nice thoughts, we all have something to wish for during the day, but at times that something escapes … Right now I wish I had more time today to be out with friends :)! Have a good 2011 Tim, thanks for your visits to my blog!
No problem and thanks for visiting mine! Good luck with your new year as well.
Tim
Hi Tim!
I thought at first that the introduction will lead me to another short story. But I’m surprised, it’s just a post! You really write well, Tim! 🙂 I am inspired.
About your questions, yeah. I feel that writing is the only thing I want to do wherever I may be. I think I’m born to write… Yeah…
Thanks for constantly dropping by my site. It’s an honor. Really.
Judy
Judy,
I am working on another story and will soon have it ready to post. I just thought in between I would talk a little about writing. Thank for stopping by. I will be reading your post.
Tim
I write every day. I read every day as well. I am not into much else. Writing is life!
I am happy you like – love it. It is a blessing, indeed.
Tim
I wish I could get myself into some of my rewrites…now I know what I’m missing – Beer and a Recliner! Now, I’ll go about it in a different way tomorrow. I’ll let you know if it works for me!
I can’t wait to hear about it. I hope it works for you. Rewrites…wouldn’t it be great if we could just bang the keys once through and it be exactly like it was supposed to be?
Thanks for the visit.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Ah yes, I find great serenity in writing.
After your long day and the need to unwind you still find the time to work on a story and a blog… which tells me you heeded the call of the muse. Sounds like you found your bliss!
There is no doubt about it. It is a place where I can retreat and find peace from the outside pressures the world adds.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tim
When I start to write and it really begins to flow… I do feel like I’ve been inspired. I hear ya.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Come back and visit anytime. 🙂
Tim ~
Thanks for commenting on SLTW and posting a link to your blog. I’ve read 7 of your most recent posts and enjoyed each.
Sign me up, Scotty!
I do thank you for signing up. I have been following yours as well. This blogging world has been a constant source of inspriration to me. Your post is an important part of that.
Thanks,
Tim
I hate when I don’t get the chance to write. It doesn’t necessarily have to be my story, either. I like to spend a little time each day, at least, writing -something-. And when I lay down to sleep at night, I always find myself writing in my head – connecting phrases, putting plots together, developing characters. It’s pretty scary, actually. LoL
Most gifts are pretty scary, I think. When a gift becmes a calling, it is scarier still. What must you do with that gift now?
The post you had on Huck Finn and the political correctness of our country – the world – was excellent.
Beware the keepers of our words!
I am in the recliner as we speak. It’s near midnight as I can’t seem to stop my brain from working and weaning off the day until that magic hour. I may not get to write everyday (until the postaday challenge that is), but I think about writing all the time.
The beginning of this post sounded exactly like my typical day. 🙂
I am glad you liked it. Please stop by again.
Tim
Sitting down. Ha! Quilt rises up quickly and sternly if I dare… sit still. It’s a joke within my family… especially when they see I have nothing to do… but yet I’m still circling the house like the lost baby bird trying to find his mommy. SNORT!
And by Quilt… I mean Guilt. You know… in case you can’t tranlate “Idiot”. 😉
It does make a little more sense with the word Guilt in it. I, too, have a hard time sitting still and doing nothing. I do spend a lot of time on this old computer, but I am always busy. If my fingers got paid by the mile, I’d already be a rich man.
Thanks for the post and keep on keeping busy!
It is all the other things in life that I see and witness that contributes to and fuels my desire to draw and paint. To create. I draw or paint, daily, if but for 30 minutes. I see things and feel things and carry it with me as I begin to transpose. Without the richness of the tension, the work, the conflict, the peace, the recliner, I may fail to connect with my viewers (readers) who are my precious supporters. How did that story of the “help with the truck go”? How about the feeling when the last dish was washed? I imagine I will sense “you” in these scenes in the future stories I read. I, too, am tired when I pull out the paints. Write on, Tim……… beautiful post about the life of an aspiring artist.
I can feel your creative spirit in this response. I will sense “you” in your future paintings. Paint on, Leslie. Whether you paint or write, tell your story. Tell your story!
This is a great reply!
Enjoyed this post and could really feel what you were talking about. Yesterday, I left off at a good place with my current WIP and was excited to get back to it today, however today has been one of those hectic, stressful, feels like life is beating you up kind of days. My scheduled writing time came and went. I didn’t write at all.
*sigh* Good news is a non-writing day isn’t the norm (because like you, I usually just have to get to it somehow) and also, this post has inspired me to make sure I carve out some time for writing tomorrow.
Jenny,
I am happy you got a positive feeling about this post. Keep on writing.
Tim
Mmm beer.
Sorry, couldn’t help it. I look forward to my one beer every night, too. Very very much!! Only I drink that girly stuff–Bud Lime. Lite. 😉 I’m afraid anything harder–even a glass of red, which I love, might fog up the clear writing. I’m only 5’2 😉
I usually write in the mornings, after some exercise–house is quiet, brain is fresh and has had its oxygen fix. It’s my treat to myself before doing the “paying writing” work. I know I’m so lucky to have writing as a career, but remaining disciplined isn’t easy.
Heather,
I look forward to one as well. Then another one and so on and so forth. I like writing early in the mornings as well. I have not been able to make writing my profession as of yet, so I don’t get that opportunity often. You are correct about the discipline part. As exhilarating as it is when the inspiration is there, it is sill just a job (rewrites) when the inspiration wanes.
Thanks for coming by.
Tim
Right now I have a few months off work to write whenever I wish. Oddly, it those times when I am working full time, and have other commitments at home, that I feel the most inspired to write. I’m trying to change that.
For any writer, writing offers us a santuary, a place to unwind, to stretch our imaginations. It feels good even without a beer!
Laura,
I agree with that. Writing is something that feels good any time of day. I really like it in the morning, too, before the house has awakened. A cup of coffee and words going down on cyberspace paper is an awesome feeling.
Thanks for reading my blog. It really means a lot.
Tim
Sometimes writing is the only thing that helps me relax. Because sometimes I just have something that needs to flow out of the fingers and onto the laptop and if it doesn’t come out nothing else will get done.
Glad you got to relax in that recliner. And glad you shared with us as well.
Dawn,
I think the one thing that helps the most in the relaxing is the writing just as you say. After a long day of dealing with things that are not necessarily within my ability to control, it feels so good to sit down to a blank page and an open mind and just let ideas fall together as I wish them to fall together. Does that make sense?
I am glad you happened by. I have been truly amazed at how inspiring it is to come in contact with and get feedback from people who share my same passion.
Thanks
At the end of the day when everything is done and I’m tired, writing is the last thing on my mind but I enjoy reading so I would spend hours sitting in front of my big screen (mine is 27″) and start reading my blogging friends’ blogs.
I admire people who can write and wish I could be one of them so I’m glad I meet you here!
Your blog is interesting and inspiring!!! Thanks for dropping by my blog!
I try to stifle the urge to write sometimes and others i just stop smack in the middle of something coz i NEED to write..
I totally relate.
Thanks for the comment. Don’t stifle that urge. Just write!
I too feel like when I get in the door completely mentally exhausted from work, all I want to do is sink into the couch and delve into my passion of writing. But, dinner needs cooked, laundry needs done, dishes need washed. Time needs spent with my boyfriend, phone calls to kids and family members need made, etc. It never ends. The hours slip away.
I wish I had more time to do it, but I’m thankful for the time that I can steal to do my writing. It’s precious.
Time does have a way of disappearing, doesn’t it? I am glad for the time I get. I am very lucky in that respect. Thanks for stopping by. Please come back again.
Tim
I’m not working right now (although looking) so spend just about all day writing and reading. I’ve joined Jingle’s poetry group and that takes a lot of time–posting, reading and commenting on others work. I’m learning so much and enjoying myself immensely.
Last night it was close to 3AM before I could turn off my thoughts and finally drift off to sleep. I would love to be able to make a living by writing. It’s become a passion.
I don’t have the issues that you do. No children needing my attention (they are grown) and no spouse (an ex)–just a laid back boyfriend who is happy when I’m happy. 🙂
My best to you Tim and wish you success.
I, too, want very much to make writing my profession. It is hard sometimes to find the time and even harder still to take the time, but it is what I have resigned myself to do. As much time as I can muster will be spent on the keyboards, or researching, or reading. Blogging has become another consumer of my time, but that one is well worth it. Listening to the comments from all the people I have met in the cyberworld has been a valuable tool for my continued growth as a writer.
Thank you so much.
Tim
You’re welcome,
Gayle
Nooo, I understand you.. Take it easy.. It’s important to think of yourself as well.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Tim
Writing is like breathing to me sometimes. I need to do it.
JP
http://tasithoughts.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/compass-to-my-heart/
No doubt about it. It is a calling, a gift, and an insatiable need.
Glad you feel the same.
Tim
Writing is the only thing that gives me complete freedom and release. It’s hard to get myself into the mindset–but once I am here, I am home. Glad I get to read yours:)
I am glad you want to read mine. I, too, feel very at ease inside my head, with my stories and such. It is a release and freedom not everyone knows. You are, we are, fortunate.
Tim
How interesting to be here…my muse were very much absent during these last couple of months…due to it being summer here in Australia and vistors, I hope to get right back into it!! I am looking forward to spend more time here and might just look into getting a recliner myself lol!! Hugs oxo
Hey, thanks for stopping by. Wow, Australia! I would love to visit there for sure.
The recliner does work for me. I hope it works for you.
Tim
oddly enough, lots of times i write as soon as i wake up…. cup of coffee, maybe a cigarette, and my fingers start flashing across my keyboard and…. there it is. my raw mindset for all the world to read. as you figured out…. i write to clear my feelings… i pour myself into my words in ways which make my words hard to figure out what exactly was even on my mind at the time…. its all about the creative release. the pain and pleasure that comes from gouding out those feelings, raw and still alive.
hahaa, me trying to be eloquent spelled “gouging” wrong in the last sentence 😛
I like writing in the mornings as well and usually do on the weekends. During the week, I use my raw mindset in my day job.
Thanks for viewing the website and subscribing.
Tim
Now I have started to blog…I think about it all the time, I am addicted, it is a total release to me 🙂 I love your writing, I am now your follower!!
I guess we’ll be talking from time to time, then, huh?
I hope I can keep your attention.
Hi Tim 😀
Well, I have to agree with Redneckprincess…now that I’ve started a blog, I think of writing a LOT more often than I used to…even though I’ve wanted to be a writer for years. Having a blog has given me a place to post my work, get opinions and strive to become a better writer.
I guess the key to keeping a blog, however, is to maintain the creative aspect of writing the blog as your first priority and not getting overly caught up in the social side of it…the latter is wonderful and very enticing though and I constantly meet new and amazing people…but I guess it’s a balancing act. Reading other people’s blogs is a real blessing too, because it opens up our minds for wider creativity…essentially though, I am constantly aware that I must not neglect my initial goal…and that is to write.
Thanks! Chloe xx
There are only three forms of communication that have survived the ages:
Mathematics
Art(Pictures, paintings, sculptures)
And my favorite…
Writing.
Writing is my favorite…
So please write more.
Tim
I’m a full time mom of three very young children, so there really is no coming home after work time. I have scheduled writing time, and it’s almost as if that time is my fuel.
Just keep writing. It is fuel for all of us that write.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tim
Hi again, Tim,
All day at work I think about how much I want to be writing. I can’t wait to get home to dig into what’s called to me all day. But . . .
There is always some kind of distraction due to my own doings. When 8:00 p.m. comes around I know I have a couple hours to write; then I’m too tired. Then the guilt starts. My own fault. I’m just me so I have no one else to blame. The next day begins and the same thing starts all over. My writing is calling to me, my characters yell at me, and I swear when I get home writing will be the first thing I start. No facebook, no Twitter, no this or that . . . So, yes, I’m another one who does this.
We are so lucky as writers to even know this place and have this ability for escape.
Thanks for stopping by Mary J.