Obstacles

I love my husband. I really do. But having him around really messes up a girl's routine. Because as much as I adore him, he has the worst habit of reading over my shoulder. And even though I'm not embarrassed to have him read what I've written, I'm not a first time out of the gate kind of writer. Words, oddly enough, do not come easily to me. It takes many, many edits to get the thing polished and primped and anywhere near being crit-ready. So, having someone peering over my shoulder and reading the very roughest of the rough drafts is not just a tad unnerving. It's downright defeating.

The once-mellifluous flow of words has dried up. Worse, he thinks his interest is helping me. How do I tell the man I love he's my anti-muse?

The answer, of course, is I don't. I just don't write while he's around. Which creates problems, too. I've suffered from writer's block, and had the sudden epiphany that heralds the breaking of the metaphorical dam. It's usually when he's on my computer Googling himself, or watching streaming video of racing snails. And though I loathe to tear him away from such academic pursuits, I do. At which point he takes his position, sentinel behind my desk chair, and watches the screen intently as though I'd said, "Hey, watch while I make boobs out of parentheses!"

I can, you know.

( o )( o )

But that's beside the point.

The point is that we all have things in our lives that get us off track and take away our focus. Like Regan said, we have to make writing a priority. We have to make a plan and stick to it. Because as much fun as it is to craft paranthetical boobs, it doesn't get the word count met. That part's up to us. We just have to figure out a way to work around the obstacles in our path.

As big and loveable as they may be.