We can't help it. It's how we're wired. My eldest son plays the bass guitar for relaxation after teaching 8th graders all day. He can name every note to certain songs, yet he'll lock himself out of the house in a minute. My youngest son has wrestled since the 4th grade. Mention a match in his junior year of high school and he can tell you every move he made. Yet he can't recall if he wished his dad happy birthday. We're wired to focus on what's important to us.
Sometimes we have to teach ourselves to let things fall on deaf ears so we can focus on what's of primary interest to us.
One of the best places for me to write is our local Bob Evans Restaurant. The staff knows us both by name, knows to hook me up to an IV of coffee and what our order will be--no menus needed--just bring me French Toast. We camp out in a booth for three to four hours. Then we move to McDonalds for an ice cream cone and two more hours of writing. Calvin delves into his iPad and scours the papers. He is a news hound.
People have asked how can I write in a restaurant? How can I block out the noise?
It's easy. I live with Calvin.
Calvin is very hard of hearing and wears hearing aides in each ear. He also can't stand a quiet room. So, in the morning as he's getting dressed and I'm reading emails, he has Bach playing in the bedroom and a news channel on the TV. He shuffles out to the kitchen, turns on Mozart on my CD player there and then pours a cup of coffee to carry back into the bedroom. I now have Bach, Mozart and the news assaulting my ears.
Later, he goes into the small bedroom to ride the stationary bike and turns on CD's of French singers and a different news station. My brain is ready to burst. A half-hour later, he's in the den watching a crime drama and playing jazz music. It occurs to him he needs a screw driver or a hammer, so he goes into the garage, turns on the TV out there and the stereo where he plays down and dirty blues. This man with a Masters degree only knows how to turn things "on," never, ever "off." Meanwhile, I am left to listen to a cacophony of television and music. But let me turn one thing off and old "my ears are bad" can hear its absence at fifty paces.
So, how can I go into a zone and write in a restaurant, oblivious to the comings and goings of others? It's a talent my husband taught me.
Vonnie's had two books released in the last 6 weeks. A paranormal romance from Random House Loveswept, book one of her Highland Beloved series--A HIGHLANDER'S OBSESSION.
http://amzn.com/B00ILX9WC0
Book one of her "Wild Heat" series from HarperImpulse--HOW TO SEDUCE A FIREMAN.
http://amzn.com/B00ME1OWD4
13 comments:
I give you a lot of credit, Vonnie. I couldn't write in a restaurant without earphones. Bless, Calvin. That is a lot of music and 'noise'. I can write to just music, but if there are lyrics, then I sometimes get sidetracked. lol
Best of luck with your releases! They are awaiting me on my Kindle for when I'm done with my upcoming conference and deadlines! They're my treat when I finish. :-)
LOL. I have my own Calvin! Only he thinks his hearing is perfect. :-)
I love writing in restaurants and coffee shops just because watching people is so much fun. Since we separated my office for the house (built into the garage--it's wonderful), I seldom leave home to write anymore. I do miss it sometimes, though.
October 12, 2014 at 8:03 AM
I admire that you can write in a restaurant. I would be too busy watching everyone and forming ideas. Congrats on the recent book releases!
Thanks, Donna, I hope you find them a treat. When I'm writing, I'm able to zone out most everything the same as I do when I'm reading a good book.
Liz, I write on my recliner in the living room. I keep a basket of dictionaries and thesaurus and craft books beside my chair. Besides, it's the only room without a stereo. One looks for small blessings. LOL
I admit to using snippits of overheard conversations in my books...tweaked, of course. Thanks for stopping by.
I'll admit reading this made me cringe. I LOVE silence when I write. No background music. No TV. I get very little done on the weekends when my family is around. I can edit with noise, but I can't seem to write new stuff. Maybe I need to rewire my brain! LOL
Ever watched a squirrel try to decide which side of the road to run to? Kind of ADD and indecisive? Yeah. That's me. And if I don't eliminate distractions while I write...oh look at that pretty pretty bird that just flew past the window...
My husband works nights while I write in peace and quiet. On weekends, he works outside, reads or watches the television shows he missing on his computer with headphones. I have the most quiet house on the block.
When the grandkids drop in, that's another story.
My hat's off to you, Vonnie. Though I have been known to write in restaurants and such, mostly when the kids were still home, I need absolute quiet to write the new stuff. One TV on anywhere in the house and I'm distracted! Best of luck with your 'new stuff'.
This is SO true, Vonnie. We are hard-wired to tune in to things that pull at us, things that interest and inspire us. My ex husband is not the most intelligent person in the world, but he can spout off sports stats and figure out complicated plays until the cows come home. :) I would go nuts with all that noise! I prefer silence when I write, but I do like to write in other settings, a coffee shop, library, etc, and I can tune out some background noise, but I doubt I could tune out all those combined sounds. Hats off to you!
I'm the same way with writing and rewriting in my head, Vonnie, even when I'm talking to someone else, or watching TV. (That might be why I never remember a plot, even if I saw the show the day before!)
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