Monday, April 2, 2012

B- Binge

Throughout the many blogposts I've written and read that deal with finding balance (Balance! hey! Another B-word. Does that earn me more points?: *looks around hopefully*) between your writing life and your real life,  I’ve come to the conclusion that I will probably never EVER find that ever elusive balance.

Why, you ask?

Because, I Creepy Query Girl, am a Binger.  (Yes, I know it looks like it should be pronounced ‘bing!-er’,- which sounds way less cool,  but trust me, it’s not.  It’s pronounced binge –er. I looked it up. And Google is never wrong.)

I binge on blogging-go on a month-long kick where I’m up in everybody’s business and blowing up the comment box like a crack head looking for a fix. I even go running around to blogs I don’t know, knocking on their doors and leaving overly-hyper greetings like: ‘NICE TO MEET YOU! I’m a new follower! Isn’t that EXCITING!!???’ in my wake.  But then, I tend to run out of steam to the point where I can barely make my three-posts-a-week deadline.

I binge on writing- Once every six to eight months, an ‘idea’ comes to me, fully formed and I hop on and don’t let go.  I outline, I write, I anguish over the first chapter. Then the second. Then the floodgates open and (in the voice of Forrest Gump) ‘ I AM WRITE-ANG’.  Two weeks pass, two months, three months, sometimes four but every spare minute is spent writing my little heart out until it’s finally in shape to go to betas and then…hmn.  Now that I think about it, I seem to run out of writing steam when it comes time to, you know, revise and all that stuff.  It will get done.  But at a snail’s pace.

I binge on books- Of course, when I’m focused on writing a new project, or blogging like a crazy evangelist, I tend to let reading fall to the wayside.  I might order a book here, or there, but my mind just isn’t ready to settle down into another story, genre, style.  But then, there will be a sudden lull in activity and that’s when I begin.  In the last ten days, I’ve inhaled Rachel Hawkin’s SPELLBOUND, Jeri Smith-Ready’s WICKED GAME and BAD TO THE BONE, Liz Reinhardt’s JUNK MILES, and Kody Keplinger’s SHUT OUT, and I have two more loaded and ready to go. Eventually I know what will happen. But at the moment, like with every binge, I’m just enjoying the indulgence.

How about you? Do you live in a writing world of balance or binging?

52 comments:

Karen Baldwin said...

As a writer, I like balance. As a reader though, I'm a binger. I'll go into a bookstore and come out with an armful. Cute post.

Marta Szemik said...

I binge on writing as well. Worse, I can be in the middle of the room with everyone around me (hubby, kids) and wont even notice them! I just nod when questions flow my way and focus on the screen. It's scary! When I'm writing, I'm writing and nothing else.

TC Avey said...

Never really thought about it. Can I be a mixture of the two?

Connie Keller said...

I wish I could binge write. But I'm much more of a plodder. I think the most I've ever written in one day is 1500 words. Sometime between 1000 and 1500 words, I begin writing total drivel.

Matthew MacNish said...

I do have some balance, but I still think you make a great point. I definitely go back and forth on whether I'm writing or blogging more.

Kimberlee Turley said...

I can do a little of everything every day, but then nothing would get done.

I do a little of everything every day, but some days are clearly way more writing or reading than others.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Firstly, love your shot choices!!

I'd have to say I'm a mix of both. No doubt, if life affords me the time to binge I'm all over it. In a perfect world, I'd be better at keeping my life balanced.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I'm definitely a blogger binger. Help me please! And I'm always reading a book. I could use to be more of a writer binger these days. Thanks for sharing.

Heather Day Gilbert said...

Ha! Yes, I know that "blowing up the comment boxes" feeling, too! Sometimes I do bop around to tons of blogs. I've lately found Pinterest, so I can post all the visuals of my books that I want and it keeps me busy. I'm just way too OCD sometimes, and I do have to force myself to take breaks from the whole "writerly world" sometimes. Great post!

Kyra Lennon said...

Funny, I used to be a binger, but I have had to learn how to balance writing, blogging and a day job. I don't always succeed, but I am doing my best!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I can relate to the blogging binge. That's why I normally post only three days a week. On the days I post, I visit well over a hundred blogs. The next day when I don't post, I'm beat, so I visit much less. Which means by the end of this Challenge I just might implode...

PR said...

Guilty of those lol, although I don't read fast enough to really consider it a binge. 6 books in 10 days, wow! :)

Universal Gibberish

Hart Johnson said...

I tend to be that way, too. I think it's that my brain can't multi-task. I get a lot more done if I do one, then the other, then another. If I try to balance, NONE of it gets done.

Old Kitty said...

Yay for being a binger!! Love it!! I binge on beautiful things!! :-) Take care
x

Tonja said...

Balance, definitely. Great post.

Tamara Narayan said...

I never stop binging on reading. It's like breathing for me. I would rather binge on writing for a while. Ditto for sugar vs. vegetable.

Kristi said...

I always *hope* for that elusive balance you speak off, but like you, I'm a total binger! *fistpump*

Especially when it comes to blogging and writing...now reading, that's my one constant. :)

Kim Van Sickler said...

I so want to binge but I fight like a crazy person for balance.

Jay Noel said...

I binge when it comes to writing. It's like surfing, I have to make sure to catch a wave and get to work when inspiration hits.

Mark K said...

I prefer to go with the flow as it takes me. Why stifle creativity when it strikes for the sake of a rigid timetable? There will be enough times when I'll struggle to crank out something at all interesting at some point - so yes, go with the creative flow as it takes you :)

Tasha Seegmiller said...

I do, but I'm trying to keep everything a little more level.

Unknown said...

I'm a writing binger, too, when it comes to blogging. My professional writing schedule demands discipline, so I guess that's where the balance comes in? :)

Great topic for the A to Z.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Rather than "binger", I rather use the word "passionate". Passion does spike and wane also and it does sound so much more interesting.

Slamdunk said...

I have binged before and no your pain CQG. Experience has taught me balance--I try to do the writing first then focusing on the reading.

farawayeyes said...

Binger here,BUT think about it to have balance you have to be SQUARE!

Anonymous said...

Total binger- on just about everything. I grab onto any new thing like aforementioned crack fiend and love it to death. And then I get tired of it, or bored, and I'm off to the next bright, shiny object. *sigh* Balance is something I long for, but it's like this dream out there somewhere.

Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to more A to Z goodness!

Suze said...

'(Balance! hey! Another B-word. Does that earn me more points?: *looks around hopefully*)'

That was adorable.

If you stick with it, you'll be published. If you aren't already. Great voice.

And I fight like a demon for balance but still haven't quite achieved it, yet, either. Elusive may be a kind word for it ...

Unknown said...

Oh no! Not another one! I really want balance, but I don't look too hard for it. I wander around everyday life until something gets under my skin and then I suck the life out of that something like a lovesick vampire. And it isn't just writing. It's drawing, gaming, anime, my day job. Anything that gets my gears moving. And... then I lose interest. Blogging is one of the things I lose interest with. It gives me commitment-phobia like no other and feels heavy when I think I 'have to' do it.

I've always needed someone outside myself to help me keep on track, but now that that someone IS me, there's a lot of binging and neglecting going on.

Melissa Ann said...

Great post! I live in a everything world of binging, especially when it comes to writing. Also crafting...and possibly a few other things.

Cherie Reich said...

Balance is nearly impossible to find, and it quickly teeters over as soon as you think you have it.

I love binging on books. I go through phases where all I want to do is read.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I'm just a full-on addict. I write, I blog, I glance at the time and see it's half-two in the morning!

Joe Richardson said...

I'm afraid I'm right there with you, in the binger boat.

I'm online all the time, and then I'm Amish. I write for hours a day, and then I'm parked behind the camera, far from the page.

Still searching for balance, here, too. Do me a favor? If you figure it out, share. I'll be on twitter/fb/tumblr/pinterest/my blog.

Or, you know, raising a barn on the back 40.

Best,
Joe
B/Barnstorming

MJ said...

Just stopping by from the A to Z Challenge. I am currently trying to find some balance in all areas of life!

Horst Peters said...

What is balance? I've been trying to find that for decades and had next to no success.

NiaRaie said...

I'm not a binge writer--I definitely strive for balance--but I think I'll strive for it eternally, but that's okay cause I'll just chug along!

Tracy Moore said...

Wow, I'm so busted here. Yep...another binge-er here! Seems like it's hard to maintain creative balance, because it's either there and flowing or it isn't. Great post. :)

Unknown said...

Yep, I'm a binger too. When I get an idea I need to write, I need to find a balance with work, life and writing.

Konstanz Silverbow said...

I think you for sure get some extra points! And I love this post!

Konstanz Silverbow
nothoughts2small.blogspot.com
thewriterace.blogspot.com
A to Z c-host
www.a-to-zchallenge.com

Ru said...

Oh gosh, the Forrest Gump joke cracked me up :)

shelly said...

Balance is good. Crack is very bad. Yup. Yup. It is.

Shelly
http://secondhandshoesnovel.blogspot.com/

Michelle Mach said...

Until I read your post, I was in denial about binging. But you're right--I definitely do that with books! It's always dangerous when I come home from the library with a stack because there's a good chance I won't do anything else!

Steph said...

I FULLY binge on blogging! I am doing it right now! The good news: I often (shh shh) read while at work but for some reason was unable to post comments, so no one knew I was dilligently reading! Something changed with our browser though, so here I am!

Gina Ciocca said...

I go through book binges, too. I have phases where I read everything I can get my my hands on, and I'm blowing through books in 2 or 3 days. Then, all of a sudden, I stop. There's no telling how long the drought will last, but I'm in one now. And I'm hoping it ends soon!

DL Hammons said...

I'm a book binger also. (Are their meeting you can attend?) I'm currently in the middle of a binge. I'm reading one, critiquing two, and I have six more sitting here on the shelf by my desk. :)

Alleged Author said...

I totally binge on books. Ugh. It's a serious habit!

Sarah Tokeley said...

I'd like to balance but I totally binge. It used to bug me but now, as long as nobody starves, and everyone has clean pants, I'm good :-)

Jaycee DeLorenzo said...

I binge on everything, going from one fixation to the next. I try to stay balanced, though.

Happy Monday!

My A-Z

In Which We Start Anew said...

I laughed reading these... I'm right there with you, sister. I am PASSIONATE when I'm in the middle of my upswing over whatever activity, but then I hit that downswing and it's like pulling teeth to stick with it.

Jo
In Which We Start Anew

deathwriter said...

I don't know if I'm a binger when it comes to writing or blogging. I blog rarely, but I'm loving this challenge and the fact that people are reading my posts, but I write daily. If anything, I'm a vomit writer. I write a huge vomit draft, but then I have to wade through the nasty, smelly chunks and kill a bunch of darlings. Sorry, too many metaphors.
I like your blog title:)

Elizabeth Seckman said...

So glad you stopped by my site on your last binge! I feel like I hit the lucky blogger lotto.

Anonymous said...

Yes. &*sagenod* Sounds a lot like me, though I'm gaining some balance as I get older. -.-

Rebecca Bradley said...

I think I tend to binge and I hadn't thought about it until reading this post! This month I will obviously be binging on blogging!

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