What was I when the cat needed letting in?
28 Friday Sep 2018
Written by Charles Harris in Life, Mental Game, Procrastination
Before the cat needed letting in the front door,
I was about to write about the fun of visiting good bookshops and literary festivals.
Especially as my local bookshop – West End Lane Books – has now taken delivery of my newly printed short story collection – The Cupboard.
And tomorrow I’m off to Morecambe & Vice Crime Writers’ Festival in Lancashire (don’t you love the name?).
But…
Oh, excuse me, she’s finished eating and needs letting back out again.
So, as I was saying – bookshops. The good ones – like West End Lane Books – are highly enjoyable places for both writers and readers – and of course, just as all car drivers are also pedestrians, so all writers are also readers.
Like good festivals, bookshops are places where you can learn about… sorry, she’s decided she needs seconds.
And like good festivals, they arrange events and you can meet people who also love books.
Now, it’s the other one, who came in the cat flap at the back and wants her own food.
And the first one is waiting to be let in again so she can find a place to sleep.
She used to go in and out of the cat flap like her sister, but then they decided they hated each other. Since then, she’s insisted on having her own doorman.
…Me
If you want to know what you are, look at where you put your focus.
Make a list of the things that are important to you and then put them in order of how you spend your time and money. You may get quite a shock.
Theoretically, I spend most of my time writing. Bur in reality, I probably spend as much opening and closing the door to the cats, putting out food, cleaning their bowl, taking the other cat for a walk (yes, she insists on that) and then putting out more food again…
Not just during the morning, when I’m supposed to be writing, but throughout the rest of the day. And at frequent intervals during the night.
Of course, I don’t have to, but it’s such a useful break from the computer. Or whatever else I’m doing. Like sleeping.
So am I a writer?
Or a cat doorman?
It’s quiet for the moment, so let me remind you to look out for The Cupboard in your local bookshop. (There is even a cat story in it, albeit rather a dark one).
Tell people what you think