Staring into Space

It may not look like I’m working, but I am. That’s one thing about being a writer. It involves so much more than writing. I was working this morning while I was making the bed, getting my head into the short story I’m working on. I’m not sure where it’s going next, so I have to roll it around in my brain. It may look like I’m sitting at my computer staring at a blank page, but I’m really…

Oh, who am I kidding? I AM sitting at my computer staring at a blank screen. Only it isn’t entirely blank. There are seven pages of words there. Waiting for eight. It’s page eight that’s stuck in my head.

I also just completed an e-mail to a friend. That’s part of being a working writer, too. Because this isn’t just any friend. This is my major research resource. She answers all my questions about life at the racetrack and how things are done behind the scenes. Since this short story I’m working on is set in the world of Thoroughbred racing, just like my novels, I need to be precise in those details. So I fired off an e-mail to the expert with a list of questions.

Now I’m stuck until I hear back from her. But not really. I can continue to stare at the computer screen and mull over the plot and especially the ending. It helps to know the ending. Then I only have to figure out how to get there from here, which involves a lot of staring into space. Yes, that is one more aspect of writing. And it’s the one that is really hard to explain.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m working”

“No, you’re not. You’re daydreaming.”

Like I said, it may not look like I’m working. It looks like I’m daydreaming. And I am. But as a writer, those daydreams are the source of my material.

Now, if I’m daydreaming with my eyes closed and I’m snoring…Okay THEN I’m not working. THAT is called napping.

But for now, I’m not napping. So back to daydreaming…err…work.