Living the Dream
The December question for the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop is:
Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?
I imagine this a lot. Usually when I should be writing. While other middle-aged straight women fantasize about Brad Pitt or The Rock and a bathtub full of Jell-O, I daydream about hitting it big as a writer. Book tours! Interviews! Swanky cocktail parties! Appearing on the Stephen Colbert show! (Psst… Stephen. I’m currently accepting bookings. I can even be witty and charming if sufficiently caffeinated. Have your people call my people.)
Being the hopeless nerd that I am, I also fantasize about being able to write full time. I even have a schedule worked out:
- 7:00–9:00: Write
- 9:00–10:00: Gym or walk/run in the neighborhood
- 10:00–12:00: Write
- 12:00–1:00: Eat a nutritious, delicious lunch and take a walk (Note: in my fantasy world, it’s always sunny and 70F with no wind, so I can take long, meandering walks outside whenever I feel like it. In reality, I live in Flagstaff, where it’s currently 18F with 2 feet of snow on the ground.)
- 1:00–3:00: Corresponding with my agent and editor, social media marketing, blogging, and—my favorite—answering my fan mail. Paging Gilderoy Lockhart…
- 3:00–5:00: Gardening, napping, reading, journaling. Maybe a little laundry thrown in to keep me in touch with how the common people live so my head doesn’t swell too much.
- 5:00–6:00: Lounging in the hot tub until my meal service delivers a hot, delicious yet healthy dinner.
- 7:00–10:00: More reading, journaling, maybe some knitting, a little Twitter.
Sounds lovely, right? Right. However…
I was off work from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday, so theoretically I could have tried out at least some of this ideal schedule. I also take staycations occasionally, which offer a full week in which to road test my dream career. Yet, funnily enough, fantasy and reality never quite align. Let’s take Friday as an example, since I didn’t really have anything I had to do that day. Here’s roughly how it went:
- 7:45–10:00: Writing (OK, so far, so good, even if I did sleep a bit later than planned)
- 10:00–11:30: Stuff face with Thanksgiving leftovers, then complain about stomachache
- 11:30 am – 10:00 pm: Scroll through r/AmItheAsshole on Reddit, smugly convinced that I would never be the asshole in any of the posted scenarios. Nope. Never. The weather is just fine way up here on my high horse, thanks.
And here’s Saturday:
- 7:45–9:30: Reading about houseboats on the internet, because my current novel-in-progress will have at least one scene set on a houseboat. Children, this is what we writers call, “research.” No, it only sounds like farting around on the internet. If a writer does it, it’s research. And thanks to all that research, I now know that you can buy DIY plans on the internet for a houseboat or something called a shanty boat, which is exactly what it sounds like, and I want one.
- 9:30–10:00: Writing (not a dang word involved houseboats)
- 10:00–10:45: Spend another 45 minutes feeling superior to the other assholes on Reddit.
- 10:45–11:30: Stuff face. Get stomachache.
-
Dead tauntaun or pile o’ weeds. You make the call. 11:30–5:30: Tunnel through snow to car, excavate car, make several unfunny jokes about tauntauns and AT-AT Walkers, and trudge through snow with husband and camera in tow. Fork over $80 for someone to plow driveways, then go to town, because we’re almost out of milk, and I’m starting to feel like I’m in a sequel to The Shining even though I’ve only been snowed in for 2 whole days.
I really want to Photoshop a tauntaun or AT-AT in here. Too bad I don’t know how to use Photoshop. Sounds like a job for… Research!
Yet despite all of this evidence to the contrary, I remain convinced that I could lead a life of genteel literariness if only I had enough money to quit my job and write full-time. I probably have a better shot with Brad or Dwayne and the bathtub full of Jell-O.
Want to see some other great IWSG posts? Check out the list of participants here. (Powered by Linky Tools).
14 Comments
Madeline Mora-Summonte
The comment about The Shining made me laugh out loud. Maybe because here in FL it’s warm and sunny. 🙂
And I’ve learned my lesson about those leftovers. I make sure to have very little, if any, around. I cannot be trusted with pie.
Janet Crum
Can anyone be trusted with pie? Certainly not me.
cleemckenzie
I like your “genteel literariness” lifestyle, and when you get there, call me. I’ll come over and join you. Here’s to a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Janet Crum
You got it! I hope you have wonderful holidays too.
Nicki Elson
Haha! Very funny look at real life versus the dream.
But, I mean, like, turkey’s a lean meat and there had to be some actual green beans in that casserole, right? Oh, and sweet potatoes are loaded with nutrients, even when swimming in butter and brown sugar, so yeah – I’m gonna count that as a “healthy” meal.
Wishing for a build-your-own shanty boat kit on Santa’s sleigh just for you!
Janet Crum
I like the way you think 🙂 Pumpkin pie has lots of vitamin A…
mlouisebarbourfundyblue
Hilarious, Janet You are very brave to share your imagined and real schedules for any day! My belly is aching right now because I’ve been eating nothing but leftover pumpkin cranberry bread that a friend gave me yesterday and drinking too many cups of coffee, some of which was leftover from yesterday. My husband and I have driven through Flagstaff a number of times. It is so beautiful. Fortunately we’ve been able to dodge at least two snowstorms in your mountain passes. All the best to you in your writing and for the holiday season!
Janet Crum
Mmm… pumpkin cranberry bread sounds amazing. All the best to you, too!
Lisa
I am so laughing right now! I love your dream and I love how you wrote about it! Get writing girl and make it happen, because you are funny and worth reading! Thanks for dropping by my blog and commenting!
Janet Crum
Aww, thanks so much for the kind words!
Debbie Johansson
I like the sound of your dream, especially soaking in the hot tub and having your dinner delivered. Sigh! Thanks for stopping by my blog; it’s good to meet you, Janet. 🙂
Janet Crum
It’s good to meet you, too!
soniadogra
You know what…Your answer was so interesting that I’m sure your writing is something to look out for… Btw your supposed schedule reminded me of Virginia Woolf shouting for a room of her own and some money too!
Janet Crum
Thanks! I do a good bit of shouting for a room of my own… generally at my husband and son when they interrupt my writing. They’re learning… slowly.