There are times when I'm writing that I hit a place I like to call The Zone. I think anyone who's done something creative knows what this is. This is when hours pass like minutes and focus on the project at hand is absolute.
I love The Zone, but it's also hard at times. You see, when I'm in it I don't want to be bothered by anything else--not email, not the Evil Day Job, not even sleep. If I'm really heavy into The Zone--and when I'm pushing to make a deadline, I almost always am--I even resent the time it takes to eat or shower. Even one minute away from the story is annoying.
So I'm in The Zone right now and I have been all week. It's fabulous, but it's also frustrating because I have so many things I have to do right now. I'm truly looking forward to this four-day weekend because I plan to barricade myself in my house from Friday until Sunday night. Three days with little contact with the outside world. Yeah, some people--extroverts--look at that as torture, but me? I consider it a pleasure and I'm counting down the minutes.
