Was it good for you?
Today, I found myself driving to work in silence. Well as silent as a car ride can be with wind noise and the wooshing of water at the wheel wells. But the funniest part was that I didn't notice it until I was moments from my office. It was suddenly quiet. And I liked it.
Maybe it was because there were no children in the car. No conference call chirping away in my ear. Radio/CD/iPod safely tucked away and in the Off position. Or the plain fact that it had been ages since I was alone in my car. Utterly alone with my thoughts.
Most of the time this is a good thing. And the fact that I can "hear" my thoughts? Even better. And today, well it was good. I found myself thinking about work projects (mostly), my day's agenda, what I needed to get done when. How I was going to find a parking spot. Lunch. The kids and the sitter's schedule. How I was going to leave the office at 3pm (the latest) and get to the grocery store...
Fun thoughts huh? Not really. But definitely a common dialog that I have with myself. Almost every day. But with a lot more background noise that usually involves at least one crying kid.
Now the ride home was better. I intentionally left the radio dials alone and let my thoughts wander. All that work stuff was out of my head. At least for the time being. And sure I was muttering the grocery list and dinner items off in sequential order until I arrived at the grocery store. But at least I did find a few moments to think about my latest book. The chapter that has been on my to-do list since Monday. The thinking was all around the characters that needed to show up when my fingers hit the keyboard. The plot. What needed to happen. Where it needed to happen. And what I wanted to feel when I was done.
I'd say the book got a good 15 minutes of my drive home. And those were a damn good 15 minutes. Let's hope they are as good for the characters when I write that chapter tonight.
This post brought to you by Two Writing Teachers and their Slice of Life Story Challenge. It's a challenge where two writing teachers (love 'em!) are asking bloggers to post bits about their life in a blog post--and then announce it on their site. It's fun. It's through the end of March. Go sign up if you want! I'd love to see you there!
Maybe it was because there were no children in the car. No conference call chirping away in my ear. Radio/CD/iPod safely tucked away and in the Off position. Or the plain fact that it had been ages since I was alone in my car. Utterly alone with my thoughts.
Most of the time this is a good thing. And the fact that I can "hear" my thoughts? Even better. And today, well it was good. I found myself thinking about work projects (mostly), my day's agenda, what I needed to get done when. How I was going to find a parking spot. Lunch. The kids and the sitter's schedule. How I was going to leave the office at 3pm (the latest) and get to the grocery store...
Fun thoughts huh? Not really. But definitely a common dialog that I have with myself. Almost every day. But with a lot more background noise that usually involves at least one crying kid.
Now the ride home was better. I intentionally left the radio dials alone and let my thoughts wander. All that work stuff was out of my head. At least for the time being. And sure I was muttering the grocery list and dinner items off in sequential order until I arrived at the grocery store. But at least I did find a few moments to think about my latest book. The chapter that has been on my to-do list since Monday. The thinking was all around the characters that needed to show up when my fingers hit the keyboard. The plot. What needed to happen. Where it needed to happen. And what I wanted to feel when I was done.
I'd say the book got a good 15 minutes of my drive home. And those were a damn good 15 minutes. Let's hope they are as good for the characters when I write that chapter tonight.
This post brought to you by Two Writing Teachers and their Slice of Life Story Challenge. It's a challenge where two writing teachers (love 'em!) are asking bloggers to post bits about their life in a blog post--and then announce it on their site. It's fun. It's through the end of March. Go sign up if you want! I'd love to see you there!
Labels: slice of life story challenge, writing, writing life
