It’s not writer’s block. I’ve never really experienced it to any degree. What I do experience is the inability to write due to guilt. Good old-fashioned shame over wanting to write when I have other stuff going undone. Trivial, unimportant stuff like paying the bills. Making dinner for the family. Moving the laundry along. Taking care of my customers’ needs. Yeah. Dumb stuff. But until those tasks are done, I can’t sit down and write. The problem arises when I never get caught up.
It’s all about not wanting to be interrupted. I could sit at the computer for, say, 30 minutes between tasks and start working on a story. But for most writers, 30 minutes just won’t cut it—it takes that long, sometimes, to really warm up to what I’m writing. So I’m reluctant to put fingers on the keyboard unless I have some significant, quality time to write. I just can’t be rushed.
Oh, Yum.
The book launch for the Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles anthology MURDER IN LA LA LAND was just a kick! I believe nine of the 12 authors and two of the three editors made appearances at The Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. The crowd was fun and receptive, the bookstore staff was generous and accommodating. I enjoyed meeting Paul Marks, Terri Nolan, Jane DeLucchio, Kathy Kingston, Donna May, Kathleen Piche and Lenore Carlson, all extraordinary LA LA authors. I’d already had the pleasure of meeting Gabriela Vazquez, my terrific editor Eric Stone, and it’s always a lark chatting with the witty and behatted Michael Mallory. Also on hand was the charming Naomi Hirahara, another of our fine editors. Missing were authors Jack Maeby (whom I’ve met before), Patricia Morin and Jude McGee—we’ll catch up at a future event. (Jude is off gallivanting around Spain, poor kid!)
Lots of positive feedback on my short entry, “Just Like Jay.” I’m encouraged to start writing shorts again. If I ever get my chores caught up.