RUTH, The Mobile Home Office
“The great enemy of writing isn’t your own lack of talent, or industry, it’s being interrupted by other people.”
I have 3 Ruths in my life: my grandmother (father's side), a character in a short story that lives under my bed, and my car, Ruth the Honda. The other day my daughter helped me convert Ruth into a mobile home office.
When I edit or write, what I need most (even more than good coffee) is uninterrupted time. And dead quiet. No son hoverboarding through the house while playing the guitar, no husband on work calls, no daughter using our jetliner-loud blender. Our house is smallish; we are always on top of each other. In many ways I thrive in the chaos and closeness, but when it comes to getting writing or editing work done, COVID-19 and a household full of children and dogs 24-7 have made things difficult.
Joyce Carol Oates emphasizes the importance of uninterrupted time in her master class on writing. (I haven't taken the class—but advertisements and clips from the class have bombarded my facebook feed lately—and a quote on uninterrupted time stood out during this time when very few of us are able to get it.) Long ago I read Oates' excellent book on writing, and the conversion of Ruth and the Oates' quote inspired me to revisit some of her writing advice.
In this Medium article she says, “The great enemy of writing isn’t your own lack of talent, or industry, it’s being interrupted by other people.” She also seems savvy about how sneaky and cute our interruptions can be. My son hoverboarding through the house while singing a song is mighty high on the cuteness scale. As is this face:
As she says in the medium article, "Your worst enemy will have your most beloved face.” JCO has published a book every year since her first novel in 1964, so she is definitely a teacher worth listening to). You can read other quotes from the class here.
When it comes to interruptions, the same is true for editing. Once I enter a book as editor, I need to remain there as a visitor for long stretches of uninterrupted time to understand the language and voice and landscape of a book before I can offer any sort of feedback and advice. It's true for all the editors I know—and we are all struggling to find ways to get the quiet.
So I am really grateful for my daughter's idea and what was possible for Ruth. The conversion was easy. Ruth is a hatchback—and so we threw down the seats, added some blankets and pillows for couchy comfort, and then my daughter added disco ball lights as a decorative touch. (I recognize it kinda looks like a bed.) All I needed is my coffee and my charged-up laptop.
Today I took my new home office to a trailhead by a park, rolled the windows down, and was able to in three solid hours of uninterrupted work. No internet or beloved faces to distract me!