Obsession��� Not that bad of a word.

What do you do when something has consumed you? I’m not talking about a rousing game of Uno, or a gripping suspense climax in your favorite detective television show. I mean stalker-level, mind-controlled, binge-eating, binge-watching, song stuck in your head, on the verge of losing your family and day job consumed.

That’s pretty hard up when you get to that level, but I think that means you are an actual writer.

I find myself thinking about my books and characters constantly. Sometimes, it gets to the point where my family is trying to talk to me, and I am “in the zone” with the story line, plotting of a scene, building a bridge between one chapter or section and another, etc. I carry around my iPad faithfully to capture those moments, but I have found lately, that just jotting down a few notes here and there, or writing a couple of lines��� isn’t enough. As I have mentioned before, inspiration can strike at any time. It’s very, VERY hard not to write when it comes knocking. Like now��� I can’t really seem to stop writing down my thoughts about being obsessed. I believe in normal people, this would be an indication of a mental illness. I’m not really sure if there’s any difference between that and a writer.

Here’s a prime example. Between the last paragraph and this one, I had to stop for a few hours to do something else. That entire time, I thought about a character flow for Joshua and a plane trip from England.

I am pretty good at multitasking on certain things, but when it comes to writing, I throw myself into it 100%. The problem is that I don’t always get to focus completely on the writing at hand. That, as of late, has been the most frustrating part for me. I WANT to write. I am not independently wealthy, nor have I been presented with a book-to-screen deal which will allow me to basically just sit and write. Which, as I mentioned��� is all I want to do.

What started out as a hobby, then slowly became a past time, has now turned into an addictive drug. (Not the bad kind either). It’s like that crazed look that guy from Reefer Madness had when he couldn’t get enough. Not the new one, the old black-and-white version. I just can’t seem to make it through a part of my day without thinking or actually writing.

I’ve heard that if you are willing to do something without pay because you love it, then that is the occupation you should have. Well, I’ve known that for a long time.

I’m no different than anyone else who happens to be obsessed. I just focus my time and energy on a universe of worlds floating about in my head. My characters and situations are very real when I write. For all of those writers out there, I don’t have to explain any of this.

Brothers and sisters, do you feel me?

Time for the moral���

If you made it this far, then yeah��� you’re probably just as obsessed as I am. That’s not such a bad thing. It is that very obsession that generates amazing stories from nothing. It doesn’t matter what you write about. Keep doing what you’re doing; I know that I will. That tick in your eye (Reefer Madness,) may lead to your life’s masterpiece. How are you ever going to know if you stop being obsessed?

 

PS. I know that I said the graphic would be new for the next book.�� It’s not coming out until May, and I just had to get this obession thing off my chest.�� It will be new for the next blog… unless I obsess about something else that I absolutely have to��rant about.