Winter Writing – and/or Gardening?

Just walked in after grabbing an hour or so outside before the promised rain and freezing Tasmanian winds descend again. With our heavy programme my flower garden is a mess. I’ve been trying to grab an hour here and there when the weather and other interruptions permit to try and get rid of those out of control weeds trying to choke the few roses and the poor lavender and azalea struggling to survive. The plan is to plant more shrubs and perennials then cover the garden with sheets of paper and bark to try and keep those weeds at bay.



So here I am, trying to catch my breath and think about my writing responsibilities – like this blog. It has taken me days to catch up on reading email, blogs, author’s newsletters, etc, etc that have sat on my computer to be dealt with. Yesterday I did manage to at last tidy this desk – well, most of it – by sorting out the RWA Roadshow files, the Society Women Writers TAS short story things, the Baptist Women’s Ministry registrations for Saturday week and checked if there is anything I’m neglecting to be ready for the RWA annual conference at the Gold Coast. Oh, and realised that the October weekend for the Word Writers Getaway in Queensland is looming closer and I should be preparing that workshop about the structure of novels.

So, where does all the above leave my current manuscript? Sadly, like my poor garden, it is still waiting for attention!

The trouble is I do enjoy being involved in all the above activities and I haven’t even mentioned the delight of spending time with God’s gift of our precious grandchildren. But where does my novel writing fit in all of this? Winter is a great time to stay at this desk away from the cold outside. Are any of my other activities like those weeds that have over-run the flower garden? Are my commitments out of control like them?

Are they simply keeping me too busy to write? 

Time for Mary to again earnestly seek just what God wants her to be doing at this period of her life, what HE wants her involved in.