Chaos

I know I have mentioned this before but right now I am doing something I love to do -- write amidst the chaos of my unfolding family life.

I am at the counter between the family room and the kitchen. The television is on, Angela is cooking dinner and the dog is barking at one of the kids as both my daugthers argue with each other. It's the Family Circle.

And yet, despite it all, I can focus on writing. I am writing the scenes leading up to the police discovering the man who killed the victim in my next novel, "The Death of Art." I have on earphones, which mutes much of the noise, but I am still aware of it.

The ability to write despite everthing going on around you is one of the things I appreciate most about having worked for years in a newsroom. There is always noise and distractions in a busy newsroom, and you are still expected to get your work done.

So as I sit here, getting ready to have dinner before returning to a blank computer screen with its demands, I am grateful for my training. Now, if only I could require inspiration to show up on demand I'd be all set.

I will now follow my own advice and keep writing.