The Problem with Sunshine
So here's my question-- if you live in a climate with nice weather all the time, how do you find time to write?
I've noticed that since we've had the best summer of our lives here in the Northwest, I have written and submitted the least amount of work ever. I find when it is sunny I must be outside. When it is one of our hot days (anything above 92 degrees), I want to nap. When it is clear blue sky, I am walking my dog or riding my bike. Poetry moves to the very end of my schedule.
I've noticed that since we've had the best summer of our lives here in the Northwest, I have written and submitted the least amount of work ever. I find when it is sunny I must be outside. When it is one of our hot days (anything above 92 degrees), I want to nap. When it is clear blue sky, I am walking my dog or riding my bike. Poetry moves to the very end of my schedule.
My hope is that as a native Northwest girl, I know our winters, months and months of gray sky, a wool blanket pulled over us and everything wet wet wet. This is why we have so many writers. We are all inside with our books and paper and pencils.
In the fall /winter, I can become moody and emotional. I can feel sad and anxious. I write my life down because I am unable to live it. I become someone who is in her mind most of the time, not her body or breath, but I'm spinning stories and poems because that extra energy I haven't used needs a place to be.
I'm not sure I could be a writer in Mexico, unless I created a perfect outdoor studio for my laptop and pet iguana. The weather really determines how much I produce.
I totally understand the moody/ emotional thing. I suffer from SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. It has become a joke in our family because the worst of it starts about the time the baseball season ends and continues until the arrival of or about halfway through Spring Training. While I do believe I truly have a let-down when baseball ends, it's not the basis for the problem overall.
ReplyDeleteThe changes in the length of light during the day + an increase in the number of overcast days truly makes me feel tired, emotionally down, less motivated.
One way that I deal with this is full-spectrum light therapy. It really is helpful, though I can't say that it eradicates the problem completely.
There's statistical evidence that the further north one lives the greater incidence of SAD within the population.
Perfect picture to go with your post. :)
ReplyDeleteI have to agree... it is hard to think about writing when every sunny day feels like a new opportunity. But what an amazing summer it has been for the NW! :D
Pet iguana???
ReplyDeleteI think I wrote 2 poems the entire time I lived in California (2 years).
ReplyDeleteYour subject line made me laugh. I've been railing against the sun for weeks now. I have a TAN for crap sake. Where oh where is my pasty complexion? My sweaters? My fire?
ReplyDeleteI miss the unruly clouds and rain.
xo