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Creating: Writing in the Moment

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You all know I'm a news junkie. Hard news. Soft news. Celebrity news. Local. International. I don't care. I want to know it all because I never know when something important will pop out for me.

So last week I was reading something about Angie Harmon. The focus was on Mommy Guilt. She has (I think) three small kids and she's currently working 90 hours a week - and she's not even a writer!

She said the most constructive advice she received was from Kyra Sedgwick: Keep your heart where your heels are.

I don't know about you, but that made perfect sense to me.

How many times have we wanted to be playing with family when we're writing?

How many times have we wanted to be writing when we're participating in family time?

How often does our mind stray to our new shiny idea when were striving to complete our WIP?

Keep your heart where your heels are.

When we're writing, keep our hearts with our writing, with our stories, with our characters.

When we're having fun with our friends and families, have fun. Make it quality time. Make the experience a wonderful memory.

And that shiny new idea? Make notes. Let the ideas develop. Don't stop working on the WIP.

Live in the moment. Enjoy all life has to offer.

Will we be able to always do this? Of course not.

But if we try, we will enjoy and experience more and waste less of life.

It's a choice.

The choice is up to you.


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Joanne said…
I love this advice, to live in the moment. Otherwise we're wishing away minutes, hours and days fretting about what could be as the best of life is right in front of us. Thanks for the reminder.
June 13, 2011 at 7:47 AM
Jan Morrison said…
words that I live by! Thanks for the reminder...Jan Morrison
June 13, 2011 at 7:53 AM
Linda Kage said…
I always did like that Kyra Sedgwick! Great advice.
June 13, 2011 at 8:03 AM
Anonymous said…
That's true. When I'm with the fam I want to write, and vice versa. But like you said, we need to live in the moment and enjoy all life has to offer. Life is too short. Get out there and enjoy!
June 13, 2011 at 8:22 AM
LR said…
Very good advice. I took yesterday off and really enjoyed just reading a book and a later bbq by the lake. :)
June 13, 2011 at 8:42 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Joanne - I have to continually remind myself, and I hope I'm getting better.

Jan - Good for you!

Linda - I think so, too.

Stephen - Exactly!

LR - A bbq by the lake sounds awesome!
June 13, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Karen Jones Gowen said…
What a nice post for a Monday! Yesterday I heard a woman say that she tries to have gratitude always to help her live in and appreciate each moment.
June 13, 2011 at 8:54 AM
BECKY said…
Thanks for the reminder, Carol! And what a unique way to say "Live in the moment!"
June 13, 2011 at 9:01 AM
Unknown said…
Words to live and write by. :) Thanks
June 13, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Talli Roland said…
I love that saying! Must tuck that away for future use.

Happy Monday!
June 13, 2011 at 9:07 AM
Alex J. Cavanaugh said…
And if your heart's not in it, go do the thing your heart desires!
June 13, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Lydia Kang said…
I think everyone can sympathize, even those without kids. Your personal and professional life are hard to keep separate sometimes!
June 13, 2011 at 9:53 AM
Terry Odell said…
Excellent words to remember. We have to love what we're doing. All of it.

Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
June 13, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Maryannwrites said…
Great advice from two of my favorite actresses. And I liked what Alex added. If your heart is not where you are and the pull is strong, maybe it is time to let your heels follow your heart.
June 13, 2011 at 10:41 AM
Unknown said…
Great rule! I used to have a lot of mummy guilt but then I realised that all my stressing over the guilt and the time actually made me a horrible person to live with. My family shouldn't have to live with guilt-mum.
June 13, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Rula Sinara said…
Great advice. Funny that we do have to remind ourselves sometimes. I stopped myself yesterday, and I made a conscious choice not to go into my office to work (on a Sunday). Instead, I told my boys to pick a board game. We played LIFE :).
June 13, 2011 at 10:49 AM
Elspeth Futcher said…
What wonderful advice! I'd never heard it before and shall try to remember it the next time I think "If only I was..." - unless it's when I'm stuck at the sink doing dishes.
June 13, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Karen - Gratitude. Yes.

Becky - I try.

Carol F. - You're welcome :)

Talli - Probably more than one of us will tuck it away, I'm guessing.

Alex - Yes! Because everyone can see or read it.
June 13, 2011 at 11:24 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Lydia - They certainly are for me.

Terry - I try to remember them every day.

Maryann - I agree...if it's possible. Sometimes it isn't. At least for me.

Clarissa - When I get cranky, no one should have to live with me either.

Rula - How perfect!

Elspeth - Dishes never end around here. Or laundry.
June 13, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Theresa Milstein said…
It makes sense in theory but boy is that hard to do! But if we always feel guilty about what we "should" be doing, we're never in the moment.
June 13, 2011 at 1:52 PM
notesfromnadir said…
Oh yeah, that "be here now" syndrome. Funny thing about it -- it works! :)
June 13, 2011 at 2:12 PM
J.L. Campbell said…
That's excellent advice, except I've never learned how to live in the moment. I'm always thinking about what I should be doing or what I could also be doing. This is one of the reasons I don't watch movies. I feel antsy sitting around watching television for an hour and a half.
June 13, 2011 at 2:12 PM
Carol Kilgore said…
Theresa - I know. And I know. Life is a paradox.

Lisa - I'm trying so hard to make it happen.

J.L. - We'd be a pair in the theater. I'm the same way until I get engrossed in the story. When it's good, I feel energized. If it isn't, I feel as if I wasted my time.
June 13, 2011 at 3:13 PM
Elizabeth Spann Craig said…
Great advice and a wonderful reminder, since the kids' summer vacation started today!
June 13, 2011 at 5:02 PM
Jennifer Shirk said…
Oh, Carol, that's wonderful advice! Love that reminder. :-)
June 13, 2011 at 7:54 PM
Kathi Oram Peterson said…
Great quote. Kyra Sedgwick is one of my favorite actors. She does an amazing job on The Closer. I'm so sad this is the last season.

I'll have to watch Angie Harmon's new show.
June 13, 2011 at 9:47 PM
Carol Kilgore said…
Elizabeth - Enjoy them :)

Jennifer - I'm glad you think so.

Kathi - Good women, I think.
June 13, 2011 at 10:04 PM
Mallory Snow said…
That's a great quote. Thank you for sharing it. :)
June 14, 2011 at 12:03 AM
Anonymous said…
My mind tends to be racing with whatever I do, but this sounds like good advice.
June 14, 2011 at 6:14 AM
Clara Gillow Clark said…
Excellent advice, Carol! I spend way too much time feeling guilty about everything. I do manage to live in the moment at times--like Sunday out in a rowboat on the pond with my husband. Nature calms me, I guess, and reminds me that sometimes it's okay just "to be" and not "to do!"
June 14, 2011 at 7:03 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Mallory - You're welcome.

Medeia - I think so, too.

Clara - I have a hard time with the 'to be' part, too. I always think I should 'do'.
June 14, 2011 at 8:38 AM
ellen abbott said…
The Angie Harmon reference caught me. My daughter's best friend in school was a girl named Angie Harmon. Not the same one. her Angie went to NY and did some modeling before she married a guy in a rock band.
June 14, 2011 at 7:29 PM
Anonymous said…
This is fabulous advice and applicable to everyone. I've become a list maker, so I don't have to waste time and mental energy worrying about what's to come. I set my day's priorities down and then work through them, totally focused on whatever is at hand. It's a gift to give complete attention to someone and not be sidetracked by niggling thoughts of what else the day holds.

Carol J. Garvin
June 15, 2011 at 12:40 AM
Carol Burnside aka Annie Rayburn said…
Great quote. Excellent advice. See you tomorrow!
June 15, 2011 at 1:31 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Careann - I'm a listmaker, too :)

CB - okey-dokey
June 15, 2011 at 7:32 AM
Anonymous said…
That is brilliant advice. I've been battling the same problem on so many levels lately and this helps bring focus back. Heck, I'll even try implementing it today! Thanks for sharing, Carol.
June 15, 2011 at 7:42 AM
Carol Kilgore said…
Ellen - Funny about names :)

Kimberly - Good for you!
June 15, 2011 at 7:48 AM
Janet, said…
though sometimes it is hard to do, I like that statement - Keep your heart where your heels are. I will try to keep that thought in mind when I am writing or wish I am writing. Life is short, we need to enjoy each moment for what it is.
June 15, 2011 at 9:11 AM
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