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| Okay, okay, in the interests of being a responsible livestock owner, the CDC advises strongly that you DO NOT smell your chickens. No kissing either! Image use purchased from Bigstock.com |
Hi, I’m
Dani, and I’m a writer and a confirmed introvert. You don’t have to be an introvert to
be a writer, but many of us are, and it probably helps in this particular
profession. But there are times when you need to stop pounding the keyboard for
a while, replenish yourself, and come back to the work fresh.
Am I smart
enough to do this on my own? Nope.
I’m one of
those writers who tend to become both obsessive and reclusive (yes, even more
than usual!). I specialize in digging in like a badger in a hole, determined to
produce a story if it kills me. And it could. Especially now as I’m neck-deep
in trying to finish a novel (Storm Crossed, Grim Series #4).
Lucky for
me, my ever-patient hubs is used to this. He’s seen it all, is familiar with
every phase of noveling, and every stage of writer-mania. Last week he
correctly identified the signs of pernicious Writer Overload. As a man of action, he promptly staged an
intervention.
Hubs:
There’s a chicken show in Kennewick today. I thought we might go.
Me:
Mmm, I’d love that, but I can’t go anywhere right now. I’m writing.
Hubs:
Honey, you need to get out of the house.
Me:
But I can’t go when I haven’t hit my word count! And I have to fix this
scene so I can fix my chapter so I can fix my plot!
Hubs:
Do you know that our friends are getting suspicious?
Me:
We’ll have them over for dinner, right after I finish this novel. I
promise.
Hubs: The neighbors are starting to look at me like
I’ve buried you in my vegetable garden. No one’s seen you for weeks.
Me: Hey, that’s exactly the kind of idea I
could use to deal with this secondary character that won't behave—
Hubs:
GET IN THE CAR!
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| Image use purchased from Bigstock.com |
In the end,
I was traumatically separated from my laptop, and driven to an event that was
truly tailor-made for me: a chicken
show! Nope, not a show about chickens,
but just like there are dog shows for dogs, there are also chicken shows for
chickens!
I don’t care
who wins the ribbons, I just enjoy walking along rows and rows of cages and
exhibits, looking at every breed, variety, and color of chickens there are, and
dreaming of what I might add to my little backyard flock in the future. I not
only have chickens in the yard right now (and yes, they all have names, like
Mrs. Beardsley and Priscilla), but I pore over the hatchery catalogues every
January and order chicks. I have 16 balls of fluff in my kitchen at this very
moment.
While coffee is a necessity, chickens
are my guilty pleasure. They also provide a small measure of balance in my life. If it weren’t for needing to gather eggs three
times a day, feeding and watering and coop-cleaning, I might never leave the
house! (Except maybe to visit my thriving
gnome colony or plant even more
flowers, but that’s a whole 'nother story…)
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| At the top of my list for future acquisition: Silkie Chickens! Image use purchased from Bigstock.com |
Hubs and I
spent the entire morning not only indulging in chicken-gazing, but also
engaging humans in honest-to-god conversation. We went out to lunch as a
couple, and talked about everything but writing.
And when I got home, I surprised myself by pounding out 1800 words. In a hurry.
And they weren’t even terrible.
So what did I
learn?
That SOMETIMES I need to remember who I am when I’m not writing. There
are many other parts and pieces to me, other things I enjoy doing and learning,
people I love to hang out with, and places that refresh me. Plus, self-care and
nurturing can make me more productive.
Will I
remember this valuable experience, and remember to PUT THE LAPTOP DOWN occasionally?
I wish I could say yes, but I know darn well I’ll bury myself in another writing
project and I’ll LIKE being buried in it and not want to leave. It’s like
Stockholm Syndrome, and my characters are my captors… And sometimes, just sometimes mind you, I’ll need to be
dragged away for an hour or two or six.
Even if I
kick and scream a little…
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| A few of Dani's chicken friends! All photos by Dani Harper |
YOUR TURN:
Do you have a favorite thing that makes you
smile? Is there someone in your life who reminds you to stop and smell the
roses, or at least hands you coffee?
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