The Reasons Why I Write

I have been thinking a great deal lately about why I write. A very small percentage of writers write enough books and make enough to be able to make a living at it, so it isn’t for the money. Although I care about people reading my work, I honestly don’t desire to be famous. Sometimes I use writing to vent emotions that cannot be released any other way, but that also is not the primary reason why I write. Surely it is just as entertaining to me to write as it is to read my books, but it isn’t the entertainment factor that causes me to yearn to write either.

I think I write because it nourishes the soul. It affords me self-reflection and exploration of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. At times it is like being able to have a conversation with myself without anyone thinking I am crazy. I have said many times that “writing is the one thing that when I’m doing it, I don’t feel like I should be doing something else”. That is definitely true. Writing gives me purpose and it gives me hope. In my works, I create the environment and characters and I determine every action, reaction, and outcome. While I often cannot control what happens in the real world, I have total control over every aspect in my writing. I guess that reinforces my desire for order, logic, and reason. It is nice to be able to bring order to chaos, light to darkness, and for good to triumph over evil.

To me, writing is as crucial and vital as the air I breathe, the food I eat, and the roof over my head. I guess the bottom line is that I don’t write for a living, I write to live.

Cheers!
~ Peter West

Stress and Finding Serenity

Alas, faithful reader, it is days like these that can at times make writing a challenge. Stress, in any magnitude and of any variety can lead to a lack of concentration and ultimately, writer’s block. Now I won’t go into any details about what is causing the stress that I am currently experiencing, but it is a set of circumstances that are beyond my control. I’m sure that most of you have experienced stress of some sort during your life. It can be crippling to the mind.

When stress is caused as the result of your own actions, it is easy to deal with. Deal with the actions, deal with the stress. When stress is due to circumstances beyond your control, however, it is a little more difficult to manage. About all you can do really is do the best that you can. You can practice stress-relieving techniques — if you are spiritual, you can pray or meditate; find a quiet place, perhaps a park, and get away from everything for a brief time for reflection; use writing as a vent for your frustrations and emotions; talk to someone about your stress to see if they have any ideas on how to deal with it or if nothing else, simply listen to you; don’t worry about it and realize that since it is because of circumstances beyond your control, there really isn’t anything you can do about it anyway, even if you wanted to.

There is a prayer that I have always loved. If you aren’t a religious or spiritual person, it can still be relevant. It is called “The Serenity Prayer”. If you are dealing with any stress or difficulties in life, I would encourage you to read this (or pray it) and take comfort. Things will get better, faithful reader. It just takes time.

The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Keep your chin up. I will try to do the same.

Cheers!
~ Peter West

Follow-up on Distractions

A few days ago, I posted an article about “Writing Free from Clutter”. In that article, I talked about how it is necessary to get rid of distractions in order to be a serious writer. After writing the post, I took a close look at the distractions in my own writing and decided to make some changes. I found that I spend most of time between eight primary activities — working, spending time with family, sleeping, eating, video games, watching television/movies, writing and reading.

Working — I can’t do much about that one. Somebody has to pay rent and bills and put food on the table. Spending time with family — I’m not willing to give up much time here, but what I am willing to do is set aside specific times to read and write and to communicate those times. Sleeping — currently, I am only sleeping 5-6 hours a night, so doing with any less would probably be detrimental and would degrade the quality of my writing. Eating — I’m already a fast eater, so I can’t really save any time in this area. Video games — Between Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2, I have spent at least 20 hours a week, if not more, playing these games. I have decided to set limits to my playing time. One hour a day during the week and two hours on Saturday and Sunday, so no more than 9-10 hours a week on video games. Net savings: 10-20 hours a week. Television & Movies — I will show my before and after viewing schedules below. I have saved several hours a week here as well. Writing — Well, the goal is to have more time to write, so MORE time here would be good. Reading — I don’t do nearly enough of it and considering the best writers are also avid readers, it is important to me to have more time to read as well.

TV Viewing Schedule (before):
Monday: Chuck, The Event, Chase, Monday Night Football (DVR)
Tuesday: NCIS, Glee (DVR), NCIS: Los Angeles, The Colony
Wednesday: Survivor: Nicaragua, Top Chef, Top Chef: Just Desserts
Thursday: Fringe, Project Runway, The Mentalist
Friday: Supernatural
Saturday: College Football
Sunday: NFL Football, Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, NFL Football Primetime

TV Viewing Schedule (after):
Monday: Chuck, Monday Night Football — only if Colts are playing (no DVR — come in late)
Tuesday: NCIS, Glee (DVR) (The Colony is over, so that freed up that time slot)
Wednesday: Nothing (Top Chef is over)
Thursday: Fringe
Friday: Supernatural
Saturday: College Football — only actively watch IU, else all games are in the background only
Sunday: NFL Football (Colts only), Amazing Race, NFL Football Primetime (Colts only)

As you can see, the schedule before equated to roughly 34-35 hours a week in TV viewing time — WAY too much. Afterwards, the schedule was pared down to 13.5 hours, so that saves 20 hours a week. Between the time savings in video games and television viewing, I have added 30 – 40 hours a week to my schedule. That’s practically a full-time job! I figure I can add an extra hour of sleep and an extra hour of quality time with my wife and children, and an extra hour and a half each for reading and writing. That sounds really good! Wish me luck! I urge you to look at your own schedules and see where you can find more time to do the things that you love.

Cheers!
~ Peter West

Writing Free from Clutter

Writing is an art form and creativity is truly a gift. I am a writer. I love to write more than just about anything else in the world. Spending time with my wife and children aside, it is the one thing that when I am doing it, I don’t feel like I should be doing something else. I know in my heart, soul, and very core that writing is what I am meant to do. More than that, it is who I am. It feeds and nourishes my soul. It provides an outlet for venting emotions and taking a stand on issues that I might not be comfortable doing in the real world. I freely admit it. I live vicariously through my characters. I create them and I use them, sometimes to reflect my own beliefs, values, and moral compass, other times to explore the dark side that we all have. Sometimes it is fun to be bad through a character and do and say things that we would never dream of doing in real life. It is a fact that there is evil in the world. To ignore it and pretend like it is not there is not only unrealistic and foolish, but it is unfair to the reader. Though the degrees of evil vary and not all characters are bad, in almost every story (even children’s books) there are bad or negative actions. Sometimes the actions are intentional, sometimes they are committed through naivety or prompting of others. Let’s face it, there has to be evil because without it there would be nothing to overcome. But alas, I have strayed off my original intent for this post.

Even though I love to write and it nourishes my soul, I am constantly finding myself distracted. It comes from a variety of sources — people talking, my children playing, the television, other books, video games, a dirty house, grass that needs mowed, etc. It seems like something is always calling my name to be done. What’s worse is I feel at times that I make excuses to not write. For example, I might tell myself that I will write after this or that television show goes off or when I finish that game. I really don’t get it sometimes. Why on earth would I be making excuses for not doing what I love to do more than anything else (again, family is excluded from that statement)? I have thought about this on many occasions and I think I have finally figured out the answer. It’s not that I would rather be doing the other activities, it is more that everything has to be in its place and done before I can sit down an concentrate on writing. If my desk is cluttered, for instance, I have to straighten it before I can write. I could give example after example, but I will spare you the gory details.
All writers have different and unique writing styles and routines for preparing to write. I’m sure there are other writers that can write in the middle of the hustle and bustle of just about anywhere. I am not one of those people. I need peace and quiet. I also need order and a writing space (and mind) free of clutter. I also need a checklist of what is important to me. Setting priorities and goals is very important to maintaining the effort to write. So is setting aside dedicated time to write, picking a time where nothing else could possibly interfere with writing. For me, it is also important to make sure that anything else that needs to be done is taken care of before my writing time. To be a successful writer, it is also important that you set aside time daily to write. If you only write once in a while when you feel like it, you are not really a writer — you are a hobbyist that enjoys writing.

So, here is a summary of my points in order to write successfully and free from clutter:

1. Set aside time DAILY to write, even if it is only for half an hour. It is very important that you maintain this. Pick a time when there is nothing else that might interfere with your writing.
2. Take care of any other activities before sitting down to write — wash the dishes, mow the lawn, walk the dog, play a video game, etc. Just be sure that when the time you set aside to write comes, drop whatever you are doing and write. You might even consider setting an alarm.
3. Find an environment that suits your writing style. For me, that means someplace quiet. It might be a room with a door that closes or maybe even a quiet spot in the park.
4. Free yourself from distractions. This is by far the hardest step. Turn off (or in extreme cases, SELL) the television, lock up the movies, delete all the games from your designated writing computer and lock up the installation discs. If your writing time is in the evening, put the kids to bed before you start. If you are married or in a relationship, be sure to communicate to your significant other when your writing time is and to please not disturb you during that time.

If you can live and abide by those four simple rules, writing should be a lot easier for you. Good luck and stick with it!

Cheers!
~ Peter West