begin...begin again: how to banish boredom for good

Stephen King put it nicely:

There's just one problem with that: making enough time for both reading and writing. Plus work (unless you're independently wealthy and don't have to earn a living, or, like me, you're lucky enough to be retired). Plus making time for family and friends. Plus keeping up with the house and yard work, and making time to exercise on a regular basis. Plus, plus, plus...

And, I don't know about you, but I usually have more than one writing project underway at a time, too. I'll work on a book-length manuscript, and then a start a short story or an essay to play with when my brain turns to mush. Right now I'm revising the book proposal for Ten Faces of Faith, while I play with an idea for a flash fiction piece. I journal daily. Plus, I write this blog every week. It all takes time.

Likewise, I find myself reading several books at a time. If one is deep enough to require concentration, I'll pick up something light or entertaining as a diversion. Right now I have three books underway:

I ordered the big, heavy book on the bottom of the pile after hearing Diane Rehm interview the author on NPR a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be the perfect thing to read on my trip to Dallas--the neurophysiology of meditation and it's role in cultivating compassion. I didn't notice the page count when I ordered it, so it surprised me that it weighed in at 693 pages, much too heavy to lug around four different airports! Instead I packed up Anna Quindlen's Loud and Clear, a collection of engaging and humorous 2-3 page essays on life. The Workaholics book? Well, that's personal...

I also have a pile of books in my to-be-read pile, all of them clamoring for my attention:

And then there are a few books I want to re-read:

There should never be a dull moment in the life of a writer. If we make time for all we need to get done in a day, all we want to accomplish, and all we wish we had time for, like this "little guy"...