A Time for Gathering Words, by Ben Jeapes

Photo by Lukas Hartmann from Pexels 

This has been one of those tedious weeks where I really don’t think I have done much, which translates into not earning much, which means not really justifying my existence or my choice of a freelance career. I mean, I’ve sat in front of the computer and the keys have gone tappety-tap and words have appeared and I keep social media and other distractions to a manageable minimum, but most of the time I feel I’ve just been staring at the screen.

And then I realise that yes, I have indeed spent most of the time staring at a screen and this is exactly the point, because most of this week has been about taking notes. With those in hand, next week I will be able to hit the ground running and the words will come pouring out. That will be the bit I always enjoy. Getting them down, fiddling them around into exactly the right order, cutting with the gleeful precision of a manic master surgeon who enjoys their job far too much – it’s all great stuff. That is why I became a freelance.

Also, even note-taking is invoiceable work …

So, the week has felt tedious but really, it hasn’t been. I know from bitter experience that without this week, next week really would be tedious; it really would be spent staring at the screen, waiting for inspiration to strike, which it probably wouldn’t. I would wake up each morning with the ghastly knowledge that I probably wasn’t going to get anything worthwhile done today, and that is not a pleasant feeling.

The long term view is an important one to have. Everything about life should teach us that instant gratification, fulfilment, completion is not all it’s cracked up to be. You can’t have adulthood without childhood or (possibly worse) teenhood; you can’t enjoy a quiet evening with your loved one without putting up with the separation of a working day; you can’t become a good writer (or good anything) without putting in a lot of practice first. And how long did we wait for our Messiah …?

Even better, I don’t need to wait thousands of years before I can actually do some proper writing. Just a few more days. If I can … fight off … the social media …

Ben Jeapes took up writing in the mistaken belief that it would be easier than a real job (it isn’t). Hence, as well as being the author of eight novels and co-author of many more, he has also been a journal editor, book publisher, and technical writer. His most recent title is a children’s biography of Ada Lovelace. www.benjeapes.com