{"id":556,"date":"2012-01-16T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-01-16T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=556"},"modified":"2012-01-16T06:00:31","modified_gmt":"2012-01-16T12:00:31","slug":"clocking-in-and-checking-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=556","title":{"rendered":"Clocking In and Checking Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Work every day.\u00a0 No matter what has happened the day or night before.\u00a0 Get up and bite on the nail.” ~ Ernest Hemingway<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I was sixteen, I got my first job, bagging groceries at a small-town Hy-Vee.\u00a0 I was \u201ca helpful smile in every aisle\u201d no matter what the day had given me up to that point.\u00a0 I stood at the check-out, cheerfully asking \u201cpaper or plastic\u201d to every customer.<\/p>\n

I learned a lot in that first job.\u00a0 I learned a firm handshake, a warm smile, and how to work hard.\u00a0 My approach to every job since then has been a constant continuation of striding quickly, grinning in a Looney Tunes tie, to the front of the store to deal with the six o\u2019clock rush.\u00a0 Clock in and get to work.<\/p>\n

That is the way I write.\u00a0 I will write anywhere, at any time, on anything.\u00a0 No matter what else is happening around me, no matter what other issues life has presented me, no matter how I feel, I straighten my Bugs Bunny tie, put on that smile, and get to work.<\/p>\n

My novel was written in a combination of coffee shops, libraries, Hy-Vee deli\u2019s, sports bars, the break room at my day job, sitting outside of doors waiting for appointments, outside on my deck, in cars, and in my study.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written first thing in the morning, last thing before bed, during lunch, and even in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t noticed any discernable difference in writing quality based on time or space.\u00a0 Two constants prevail, me and my work.\u00a0 I\u2019ve worked in quiet libraries or within loud crowds, with or without music, by myself or with several other writers around me.\u00a0 None of it makes any difference.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve developed a few preferences, however.<\/p>\n

My study is a windowless dungeon-like room with cold concrete floors and lots of books.\u00a0 The only sound is the furnace\u2019s breath and the constant clicking of keys.<\/p>\n

I prefer writing first drafts on my Alphasmart NEO.\u00a0 The screen holds five lines of text. \u00a0I am forced to keep moving forward, never looking back at what I\u2019ve already written.\u00a0 The biggest benefit of the NEO, though, is battery life.\u00a0 The thing will run forever on a set of double A\u2019s.\u00a0 I sometimes write for several hours at a time.\u00a0 Doing this on a laptop chains me to places with an available electric outlet.<\/p>\n

My life requires flexibility.\u00a0 I prefer tools and methods that allow for it.\u00a0 If I waited for the perfect time or place, I would never finish anything.\u00a0 My work is all that matters.\u00a0 Anything that allows me to write is perfect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Work every day.\u00a0 No matter what has happened the day or night before.\u00a0 Get up and bite on the nail.” ~ Ernest Hemingway When I was sixteen, I got my first job, bagging groceries at a small-town Hy-Vee.\u00a0 I was \u201ca helpful smile in every aisle\u201d no matter what the day had given me up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[52,746,867,959,1169,1283],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics","tag-alphasmart","tag-neo","tag-preferences","tag-routine","tag-times","tag-writing-places"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}