Distractions at Distractions Espresso

Distractions Espresso, Southport.

It's happened...a broken toe! Of all the times I've hit my toes on a bed leg, corner of the wall or chair leg, I have never broken a toe ... until now. I really whacked it this time.

I can be a bit clumsy sometimes. Mainly because I don't always watch where I'm going because I'm caught up in my creative world with all my characters chatting to each other. I can't resist getting in on the action with them. They are usually acting out my story ahead of time and they are unaware of me having a life.  You don't need to be writing a book to whack your toe against the chair leg though. I was clearing the breakfast table when it happened. I yelled and said a couple of words under my breath that will remain unpublished and I shed a few tears. Yes, tears!

It hurt a lot, but I was in denial. My son was staying with me at the time and we were anxious to go out for a coffee at Distractions Espresso in Southport. Great coffee, by the way. I thought it might distract me from my hurting toe. It did!

By the end of the week though it was really painful. My son had returned overseas so there were no more distractions for me. Being sad to be on my own again my thoughts returned to the niggling ache on my left foot. A friend said I really should go and see about it. I did and the result was a broken toe. It is now bound up next to my little toe with a supporting strip of  bandage tape. The doctor told me it's the only way it can be treated. I'm glad because I though I was going to have to wear one of those moon boots.

This little event has taught me a few things:

1.  Slow down when I'm clearing the dishes, or better still, have someone do them for me.

2. Distractions, such as coffee at Distractions Espresso, are definitely good when one has an aching foot.

3.  Take the time to let the toe heal. That means sitting back with the foot up from time to time eating a bit of something sweet, like chocolate.

4.  Too much chocolate is bound to put on weight because I'm not walking my regular 6 ks. per day. When I can walk again, it's going to be agony in a different way.

5.  Waiting three weeks for the pain to settle so that I can do the walk is really, really annoying. I can read great books though, like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

6.  I promise my feet I will slow down around all things that are traps for authors who think they live in a world where chair legs don't matter.

Ah, almost three weeks down ... three to go.

Have you ever had a broken toe? I'd like to hear your story and any handy hints that you might have to keep me out of trouble while I'm resting.

Good Writing Habits

Book signing...Web of lies

I've often been asked by many aspiring writers about my writing habits. It's as if by finding out about my daily writing routine they will be validated in some way regarding their own habits. If they're not yet published it's as if they try my routine then they will surely be published.

Every author has a different routine. Some write in the early hours of the morning before they go to their day job. Some work into the long dark hours after a full eight hour day or more. Another snatches bits of time when the baby is asleep (this was me when my son was young). Others write during their lunch hour, while waiting in the doctor's surgery, or sitting on the bus or train on their daily commute. I know of one successful author who only wrote on the weekends because she was a busy teacher all week.

It's the flexibility and freedom of writing that attracted me to this work. I am definitely not a nine to five worker. When I was in the workforce in my other life, working that nine to five shift, I felt I was in gaol for the whole eight hours. For most of that time I was stuck in a work area where I couldn't see the outside world. When I started writing full time I made sure there was light and the natural world around me. For variety, I go to the beach or a park or outdoor coffee shop to write. It's good for my health and it fills my creative well; double benefit.

As to my current routine, I write every day without fail. Week days, eight hours or more, while weekends for only a couple of hours per day. I believe it's important to keep the writing habit moving. I have this fear that if I miss a day, I may never get back to it. However, every year, I stop writing mid-December and don't come back until about mid-January. I may make some random notes, but that's all. This is my down time. Summer makes me come alive. It's my time to bask in the hot sun for a few minutes then take a cool refreshing swim in the surf. It's time to absorb the world around me into my heart and spirit and let nature take hold of me for those weeks. It's also a time to meet new people and make new friends whom I like to connect with in the year ahead.

Writing is my life, and  the more I write I'm finding out more about myself and how I relate to this wonderful planet we live on. Ideas are limitless, they are everywhere I go. As to that writing habit: I just do what feels right for me. I expect you will do what works for you.

Happy writing!

How about you? Do you have regular writing habits or do you have to squeeze time to write out of your busy day?