Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Doggy Distractions


I have accomplished a great deal the past couple of days. I have set up some blog podcast interviews--more on them when the times near--and sent out a flurry of emails to try to promote Fouling Out. I also managed to read through my current manuscript to make further revisions and to reacquaint myself with the characters and plot. (I hadn't worked on the manuscript since March so it was important to refresh before writing the next scenes.)

It has been wonderful working from home. Considering it's a 40-kilometer trek to my job at school, I am pleased to give the car a rest. My dogs, Lincoln and Hoover, are loving all the extra attention. However, they don't know why I spend so much time in my office. There have been blissful moments when I type away and one or both are curled up on the floor near me. Bliss is a fleeting thing. More often, as right now while I am typing, Lincoln is prowling the house and listening for something to respond to with a prolonged series of barks. Bird? Newspaper guy? Kid on a bike? His own shadow? So much material to work with! Hoover, on the other hand, is a quiet dog, but he has become obsessed with the garter snakes in the backyard. He comes into the office and props his head on my lap, brown eyes staring up at me until I give him a pat. The pat is only the beginning. A tummy rub follows and then he scurries to the door downstairs, waiting to be let out so he can conduct another snake census. Inevitably, he finishes his survey and escapes through the fencing to wander out front. I have to track him down and bring him back in. If I am lucky, there is another blissful moment before the routine repeats.

I do love my dogs. Absolutely! However, today is the day when I begin new writing on my latest manuscript. I must establish some momentum. The boys are going to doggy daycare. Hoover will love it. He climbs on my lap in the car as we near Pawsitive Adventures and bounds out as soon as I open the car door. Lincoln, on the other hand, makes me feel like a parent dropping off his child on the first day of kindergarten. When I put him in the fenced area of the facility, he looks back at me and wonders what he has done to deserve this abandonment. (Surely, it isn't all that barking.) As always, I will have to look away and remind myself that the day will pass quickly.

I am writing in my favorite coffeehouse and at the Gibsons library today. No distractions from dogs, phone calls, radio or dust bunnies that I feel a sudden urge to attend to. Hopefully, it will be a productive day!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds just like my dogs! It must be difficult writing with them, not to mention having to think about all the students during the school year. Ever thought about writing a book about your dogs? I'm sure it would be super funny. So Hoover chases snakes? My dog enjoys running into glass doors, wel he doesn't enjoy t right away, but he still does it at least once a week. Good to hear that you keep writing no matter what distractions are around.

GREGORY WALTERS said...

I have included Lincoln as a pet in a novel I hope to finish this summer. As well, I have a picture book manuscript inspired by Lincoln's peculiar attachment to my shoes. I need to send that out to publishers.

It seems like I've neglected poor Hoover. I'll have to fit a snake-chasing pooch into an upcoming story!

While the dogs definitely distract, they are wonderful company. They have yet to say an unkind word about any of my writing (although Lincoln is decidedly indifferent much of the time).