It’s interesting what people say when they find out that you work from home. I’ve had a few people say things to me recently about “all the time” I now have on my hands, now that I’m working from home? I guess they forget the work part of the phrase working at home. I could talk about how, in the past month, I’ve added another 100 or so pages to my novel; have researched and written several freelance articles; maintained 4 separate blogs (!!), which as anyone who does serious blogging knows, requires a not-insignificant amount of research as well as time to follow other, related blogs; and done a tremendous amount of research on that aforementioned novel.
Sure, it’s not quite the same as hanging around an office all day, but seriously, folks, writing a novel is not about lounging around in my jammies, drinking cocktails at noon and penning a few bon mots as the muse strikes me. (Well, okay, maybe the jammies-at-noon part is fairly accurate…) I’m usually at the computer by 7:30 in the morning, and don’t stop to do anything but perhaps heat up some lunch and do an occasional yoga stretch until about 4:45, when I jump in the car (after jumping into some non-jammies clothes) and pick up B. at work. On days when B. is out in the evening, I’m still at work well into the evening.
Working at home really is preferable to working in an office, as I’ve mentioned before. But make no mistake, folks, it’s still work. If I waited for the bloody muse to make his appearance (my muse is inevitably a Terminator-like figure who brooks no excuses and doesn’t give a damn if I have a headache), I would never get anything done. Ever.
MRA
hi ate marj! kamusta ka na? wooow! kakakita ko lang ate ng word count mo sa nanowrimo..40k++++! Ang galing mo! How did you do that?Ako ay 16++++ pa lang.. Ang hirap pala nun! Ako nga ate, there are certain times..i wanna give up with my novel pero naisip ko sayang naman kasi nasimulan ko na.Ang lakas2 ng ulan dito sobra.. bumabagyo..hindi naman po dito but umaabot dito yung lakas ng ulan. I-uupdate ko palang po yung word count ko..hehehehe! siguro di ko siya matatapos within this month.. pero tatapusin ko pa’rin siya kahit di ako manalo sa nano! hehehhe…happy writing day and happy thanksgiving!love,aizelle
Hi, Aizelle! Sorry, hah, na hindi pa kita sinusulatan. Alam mo naman yan, napaka-busy yung writing, no? I’m writing for NaNo, at nagsusulat din ako para sa mga newspaper. Pero don’t worry — tinitingnan ko rin yung numbers mo <>araw-araw<>, making sure na you’re writing! Don’t worry about not finishing — basta magsulat ka kahit konti lang everyday. Ako, sa tingin ko na baka matapos ko itong novel na ito by the end of December, so kung gusto mo, i-extend natin ang NaNoWriMo isa pang buwan! <><>And don’t give up. Please!<><> It’s important na ituloy-tuloy mo ang pagsusulat. Trust me, lahat tayo ay naabot iyan, yung basta gusto mo na lang mag-give up. Basahin mo yung NaNoWriMo Philippines forum — maraming nandiyan din na gustong sumuko na. Pero don’t worry, we all go through that. Just persevere at maabot mo yung ending. Kumusta naman yung story mo?Hindi umuulan dito pero lumalamig na talaga. Mga 3 C ang temperature; mamayang gabi ay aabot ng mga -7 C daw. Sana nga mag-snow na, eh. Gusto ko na talagang winter wonderland, ha!Sulat uli! Happy writing day!love,Ate Marj
Yes! I work from home, too, as you know, and ACK, I often run into that ridiculous assumption of “too much time on my hands” — good grief, I’m much busier now than when I worked in an office full-time!
Hi ate marj..I’m baack! tama ka ate.. marami ngang pinoy wrimos na gusto nang maggive-up but whenever they think na malayo na naaabot nila with their novel, they have no choice but ituloy na lang, just like what I’m doing right now. Kahit konti lang minsan nagagawa ko,ok lang.. ate least may nagawa ako kahit papaano.It’s really nice to know na nag-gym2 ka na ate..ahahhaha!pati mga conversations ng mga andun sa gym nasa blog mo…ahahha! sige po..tnx sa reply!take care..love,aizelle