Heading North for the Winter

HCC: The due date for the book is coming up fast, and so I decided to leave fast-paced New York City in November to move back home to Syracuse for the winter. It’s quieter here so I have more time to think.

Still, I have to discipline myself with a set schedule every day to keep from getting side tracked. So I set my alarm for 8 a.m., and then shower and dress as though I’m going into the office. I’ll make eggs and coffee before sitting down to write for four hours without stopping. I don’t allow myself to check email until after lunch, or else I’ll surely get sucked into the world wide web. An hour break for lunch gives me enough time to eat and walk my sister’s dog, before continuing to write until early evening. My biggest social interaction involves taking a spinning class at the gym. It’s been working pretty well for me so far, and I’ve discovered that writing is just as much of a craft as it is an art.

Rather than filling my nights with happy hours, public relations events, or any of the other million things that are always happening in the city, you kind of have to make your own fun here—time seems slower somehow. Last Friday night I went to my sister Sara’s house to bake Christmas cookies and have a beer. We randomly went sledding at midnight, stomachs full of sugar, flour, and chocolate chips. Sara's husband kind of looked at us like we were crazy—which we probably are—when we walked out the door with our plastic sleds. I told him Sara and I didn't have kids yet, so sometimes it's okay to still act like one!