The writing life

As you may have previously read in this space, I am now working a three-day week. Today was my first full day at home -- and besides taking snaps of the last roses of the season -- it has been a very productive day.

I did the laundry while moving sentences around in my head.

I wrote the middle of the short story long-hand.

I walked downtown while organizing the verbal movements of hands in a broom closet.

I took a lunch-time yoga class.

Lunch!

I wrote the end of the short story long-hand.

I napped.

And now I'm blogging.

The short story is no where near being finished. It's a skeleton to which I must add -- over the next few days -- muscle, tendon, and skin. And yet I couldn't be more satisfied with my day because I was fully immersed in the writing life.

The writing life is about time. So much needs to happen in your head before you put the words down. A writer needs time to let the ideas sit, evolve and change. Adjectives must be weighed. Scenarios played out to every possible denouement. Then when you're ready, you need the time to find the words that most accurately describe your vision.

Good, satisfying work, that's what I did today.