Comments | kellyrfineman: Do you have a routine?

kellyrfineman

Do you have a routine?

Oct 27, 2014 12:43

I was fortunate enough to join Jeannine Atkins for a latte on Saturday morning while I was up in Massachusetts to visit Maggie at college, and Jeannine introduced me to Burleigh Mutén, whose book, Miss Emily, I reviewed a few months back. And during our conversation, which I quite enjoyed, Burleigh asked me this question: "Do you have a routine ( Read more... )

writing, atkins, mutén, process

Comments 9

jeannineatkins October 27 2014, 18:09:45 UTC

2014 seems like a good year for your with themes of houses and their many needs, change, love, and still time for words. 2015 and your chapbook, and more settling in, sounds like it will be great, too!

I do find I need to get to words every day, or they can start to slip away, and then be harder to get back to. I guess I do like a routine of getting up and getting to my computer.

So great to spend a Saturday morning with you!

kellyrfineman October 28 2014, 16:20:42 UTC

I like the way you framed things in that first paragraph. And I agree, I try to get some writing done every day. But I used to have a regular sequence to my days that isn't there anymore. Some days I write in the morning, some in the afternoon or even in the evening. But I also feel like I'm doing other good things in life, including more exercise and fresh air, and more home cooking and baking, so it all works out.

SO enjoyed seeing you!!

slatts October 27 2014, 18:10:25 UTC

I think not.

Once upon a time art and sometimes writing fit in wherever it could. In between work, life, music and mayhem.

I was OK with that. There were tons of routines for the art in my day job. My art happened when it did.

Now, it's still the same.

So, with that answer maybe I should answer the question, yes, I do-it's chaos.

kellyrfineman October 28 2014, 16:22:37 UTC

Can chaos actually be a routine? If it is one, does it lose its chaotic identity and become somehow regulated? These are the things you have me pondering. (Rather like the "anarchists unite!" notion, because if you are struggling against systems, how can you join something without it becoming a system?)

Hope you're finding a way to get a little art done these days.

slatts October 28 2014, 16:53:54 UTC

Yeah, I should have answered "no."

With emphasis on "little." Or maybe I should start doing "little art" instead of big art. :-)

Cancer makes my ADD work even more crazy. Or maybe cancer's not to blame and it's just my routine: chaos.

???

kellyrfineman October 29 2014, 12:51:10 UTC

It's hard to differentiate sometimes, isn't it? Is it normal or "the new normal"? Either way, I'm glad you are still moving forward.

Thread 5

ext_2338497 October 28 2014, 16:00:40 UTC

I'm trying to remember the last time I had a routine. I've definitely written more frequently in my life, but (I think!) not necessarily more productively ( ... )

kellyrfineman October 28 2014, 16:19:00 UTC

You are also in transition with your newly empty nest, don't forget, which lends itself to different rhythms in the home as well.

This writing thing really IS a long-term gig - for me, it's now 12 years and counting. And while I haven't settled into a daily routine that feels like the "right" one, I do manage to get at least a bit of writing time in most days, which is a good thing. And oddly enough, I've come up with something like five or six new picture books in the past year, at least three of which are done and pretty strong (if I do say so myself). (I'm fuzzy on my math at the moment but don't feel like looking it up.)