Musing on Time & Writing

By on December 14th, 2010

hourglass graphicsTime often gets away from me. No, maybe it’s not time that flees. But minutes and hours certainly do.

I get busy with a project and find three hours have passed. I intend to spend only 20 minutes on a blog post or reading a fascinating article online, and instead I jump to another post or another article or decide I need a graphic and spend an hour and a half designing an image.

It’s not that I can’t work to a deadline. When I have one, I’m diligent and focused. But when I have nearly unlimited time, I use it. Maybe I abuse it and that’s why it leaves me so quickly. Doesn’t Time enjoy being with me? Maybe Time doesn’t like my activities? Maybe Time just tires and decides to move on, to visit with someone who moves slower, who gives Time, rather than activities, the attention.

I most focus on time when I’m pushed to complete a task, knowing that a ticking clock hangs over my shoulder (and on my wrist, in my cell phone, and in the taskbar of my computer). I also think of time when I’m working at 2 or 3 in the morning, alone with my thoughts and my emotions and the words I’m wrestling into some sort of meaning. In the dark hours, Time seems more my friend, more a companion, than a force pushing me toward frustration. In the night, Time is gentler, slower-moving. Less strident.

Time is my friend. Am I greedy in wanting more of him?

***

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About the author

Beth Hill. I'm a freelance fiction editor and I write medieval adventure and contemporary romance. And, yes, I've got a day job, too. But it allows me the flexibility to edit and write, so it's a good one. I blog at The Editor's Blog, where you can find all kinds of writing/editing tips. My editing Web site is A Novel Edit.

»» One Response to “Musing on Time & Writing” »»
  1. Pat Bertram says:
    December 14, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    I’ve always considered time as currency. If you have time, you don’t need as much money since, for example, you can prepare meals instead of eating out. Conversely, if you have no time, you need lots of money. Time is never wasted. Time never gets away from you. It cajoles you. Those three hours spent wandering the internet instead of writing a blog article will always be with you. What else would you have done with the time? Work for money? But then you wouldn’t have had the time.