Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Double yer pleasure!

Okay, so it's a double-post day. Double post days occur when I'm just brimming over with something to write, or I'm very bored, or just plain unproductive in any other area.

Now that I have made my confession, I have to admit that I feel supremely unproductive. I know I need to enjoy it and just go with it, but still....so supremely unproductive. Normally, I'm leaping out of bed around 6 on my days off, and I'm off and running and have my entire house cleaned, the dog walked, etc. by like 9. Now I haul my butt out of bed a little later than that (not a lot, though..."sleeping in" to me is 7 or 7:30), sit on the couch and sip my tea and stare dazedly into space and pet the dog, and hopefully by 2pm I've managed to spot-clean the house, walk the dog, and take a shower. And I understand that when there's a kiddo here, the last three things I mentioned will be a thing of the past as well, so I may as well get used to it!!

So a lot of people have been fussing at me to write a book. ;) Sorry masses, but I don't plan to write an actual book. You know, if I write a book, I'll have to throw myself at a publisher, and then millions of people will buy it, and then I'll have speaking engagements all over the country and everyone will want a piece of me, and I don't think I can handle that. BUT, I think it would be fun to kind of freelance. My friend Susanne and I spent an evening at Barnes and Noble a couple months ago poring over Writer's Market 2010, which includes the publications that are seeking manuscripts, who does and doesn't accept freelance writings, how much they pay, etc etc. But I left more overwhelmed than inspired...I mean, this is a totally different world, this writing world I'm looking at! It has its own code of etiquette, things that are totally cool and uncool to do. And I'm like, what? Doesn't nursing provide enough weirdness for my life, without me wanting to add more??

And then there's the problem of this persistent issue of writerus blockus, which all-too-frequently invites itself into my brain and kicks back for a nice long visit. I can think of a great number of things to write about - a few of them nursing-related, so I could probably get a neat little piece of real estate in a small nursing journal or magazine, but as soon as I sit down to do so, I freeze up. Like, I sit and stare at a blank screen. And then I flip my computer over to my blog, open up a "new post" page, stare at it for a few seconds, and the words fly. I guess my blog is kind of like talking to a good old friend, where no matter what you say, no one really cares how it comes out. Trying to write for something more specific, however, is like being on an awkward blind date where you really don't want to rip a hole in the universe by saying something fantastically idiotic.

So that's my dilemma as of late. If I could get into my groove, I totally might summon the courage to submit it. And from what I hear, a blog is a great place to start, because you already have samples of your writing as well as an audience. So for those of you who have been fussing at me to write something (I'm poking at you out of love, that's all!), I really am trying. My husband's been on my case about it since, oh, before we got married. I brushed him off, just like I've been brushing of all y'all. But I AM thinking of trying, it's just that I'm a little scared, a little shy, and...well, right now, a little less motivated. But it's on my radar. Just wanted to let you know.

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