Coming Down the Pipe

Last month I was privileged to attend a writer’s conference that has opened my eyes to so much about what I want for my writing and where I see it going. I’ve queried an agent who was intrigued enough to request the first 50 pages. I’ve been praying ceaselessly that God would show grace to that manuscript and that she’d want to see the rest of it.

School is on the horizon once more. I desire to write full time, so in order to do that, I need a job that will pay the bills, while allowing me enough time to work on my novels. Teaching Creative Writing will do just that. In order to teach, an MFA is required. And in order to attain an MFA, a GRE exam is required. So I find myself immersed in study once again. I am scheduled to take the test at the end of the month. I’ve already submitted my application to my alma mater (University of Miami), so again, praying that God opens the door there as well. 

And now I sit here and wait. Pouring over manuscript edits and geometry problems and vocabulary cards, I wait. Making the most of the time I have, I wait. Reading voraciously and researching my preferred writing genres to further enhance my skills, I wait. Keeping thoughts of failure and wasted time at bay, I wait. 

All this waiting, for what’s coming down the pipe.

In the zone

My favorite place to be in the whole wide world is in my creative zone. It’s a place where my imagination is free to roam and something as simple as a rustling leaf in the wind can become something as complex as a giant troll giving chase to a nymph and a boy in the middle of a corrupt, enchanted jungle. It’s almost magical. It takes some work to get there, but once I have arrived, there is no stopping the flow of creativity. Fifty pages can be typed out in one sitting, or more, depending.

Which leads me to the worst thing that can possibly happen when I’m in this beautiful place: being interrupted hundreds of times for trivial things. A simple iPod usually helps block out immediate distractions, but with a little brother tugging at my arm begging for goldfish crackers or a little sister tapping me so she can show me the latest and greatest song she’s tabbed on her electric Fender or a persistent telephone that doesn’t seem to stop ringing unless I get up and answer it, remaining in the zone can be difficult.

Once I’m out of the zone, getting back into it takes time, and suddenly, all those trivial distractions the iPod was able to block out become more obvious and more demanding of my attention.

It’s annoying. No wait, down right criminal, actually. But it happens and I have to deal. Any thoughts on this? What are some of your methods for staying in your creative zone? Any tips on blocking out distractions?