The time sink

Man, life is different outside of school.  So much time, so little structure.  I find that I either write a lot, or I get distracted on some side project and write almost nothing.

For example, my bike broke down last week.  Since that’s currently my only form of transportation besides walking, I spent a good amount of time this week fixing it.  In fact…I took it apart and completely rebuilt it on a new frame.  It was fun, educational, satisfying, and a good way to meet girls, but it took a lot of time away from writing.

Job hunting is another example.  I signed up with a temp agency this past week, but haven’t seen any work yet, so I’m still somewhat antsy.  It’s not easy watching money leave when you have no way to replenish it.  But when your mind is on getting a job, it’s very hard to think about anything else.

I dunno.  Maybe I’m just very bad at multitasking.  But tonight, for the first time in a few days, I put all that aside and completely submersed myself in the act of writing.  Boy, it sucked up a lot of time…but at the end, it felt so good.  So satisfying.

I need more of that, if I’m going to make this writing thing take off.  Got to outline a space for every necessary thing (including writing) and be careful about not overfilling that space.  Looking for work is good, but thinking about it so much that I don’t have time for other things, that’s not good.

In the meantime, I’ll try to find some balance and update this blog more often.  It’s my only active blog now, so I figure I should write more frequently.  One thing I want to do with this free time is read more; I read a George R. R. Martin book last week, and I’m finishing up Dave Wolverton’s On My Way To Paradise for the second time right now.  Expect some book reviews in the near future.

(hmm…I wonder if I could find a way to review books and get paid for it?)

By Joe Vasicek

Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He claims Utah as his home.

1 comment

  1. I don’t know about getting paid for reviews, but you could probably pick up a free book here and there.

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