Sunday, March 2, 2014

The Art of Distraction

If there's one thing we have to get used to as writers, it's the waiting. Whether it's waiting to hear back from beta readers, agents, or editors, they say the best way to endure is to work on another project. So it was pretty much perfect timing when shortly after I sent my WIP to beta readers, I was asked  to work on a mural for the nursery area in our new church building. I got to play around with paints and be a part of a larger creative process with two very talented people. It was great fun.











Now that the mural is (mostly) finished , I've turned to a more familiar distraction: reading. These are a couple of YA titles that I highly recommend.




And now, I'm ready to get back to writing. What are you waiting for?


29 comments:

  1. Love the mural. Did you do it all yourself? And thanks for the book recommendations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the wall paintings, Ruth, especially with the grey cat licking its paw. I like the cover of 'We Were Here' while the title 'Better Off Friends' has such a curious hook to it. Thanks for the recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So that's where you've been! Great mural - it reminds me of painting one in our village centre with the Youth Club I ran 40 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "What are you waiting for?"

    My unofficial resolution is not to be in a wait-mode. It's enough when one of my kids doesn't respond to a text fast enough... I never sit around waiting except for them. Mother's prerogative.

    The mural is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the mural--brings back memories of my children's rooms when they were small. My daughter had a room with blue skies, white clouds, and a grassy hill with a swing. Her favorite toy--Raggedy Ann sat on the swing. My son was into jungles. We painted a huge world map on one wall and highlighted the jungles of the world, the other walls were dedicated to the jungle animals he loved. It was so much fun. Thank you for bringing back those memories.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a cute mural. I'm waiting for lots of things, but I'm also trying to finish up A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those are fun distractions. Today, I'm waiting to hear if my son passes his driver's test. :-) My husband is taking him this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your mural came out wonderful! What a fun way to creatively wait things out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It looks amazing! Love the dogs and kitties. Great job, you! =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fantastic! Love, love, love!!! What an awesome job, Ruth. Will check out the books.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Not distraction, just a different medium for your creativity! The mural is adorable; I love the birdbath scene.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think the mural looks awesome! I can imagine that it helped to keep your mind off of the waiting and it also helped keep those creative juices flowing! I love to draw while I am waiting. It keeps my imagination going!

    Happy reading! I have heard great things about Better Off Friends. :)

    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful mural! I'm always in awe of people who can draw and paint.


    We're still waiting on an adoption. But that's always a long wait.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The mural is beautiful, Ruth! I didn't know you could draw! And thanks for the book recommendations. I'm waiting to hear back from my agent about several things...and it's been a long wait already...and doesn't look like anything's going to happen soon...and meanwhile I can't work on those projects... so like you, it's time for something new!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, what a wonderful way to recharge the spirit. The mural is lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That mural makes me smile--wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm blown away by that mural, Ruth. I wish I had it in my house! I'm waiting to get used to this new Operating System. Another learning curve!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yes, it's all about the hurry up and wait game, isn't it? We develop character that way, I suppose. Love the mural! You are talented in this area too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love it! I'll have to stick with writing though. I can't even draw a decent stick figure. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely! I adore all the blue. Very soothing. I find that the way to wait is to either write or read a new book. Guess I'm incurable. :D

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great-looking stuff -- it looks like you had fun being involved in the project. I love how the "exit" sign is located in the canopy of a tree -- I guess that's the kind of exit you might want to make if you're being pursued by a bear. Then again, they are good climbers, so perhaps it would be more useful for escaping from wolves. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. That's adorable. What a wonderful way to distract yourself.

    I'm waiting on everything: queries, a writing retreat this summer, the next ideas to move me forward in my rough draft, time to work on 2 revisions. And that's just my writing life!

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love it! You're so talented. Yes, I learned early on, it's all about the waiting. That never changes, even once you're published/agented. I always have multiple things going on at once.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ruth, what a sweet mural! You are a woman of many talents!

    ReplyDelete
  25. LOVE the murals. I am a huge Matt de la Pena fan and was lucky enough to attend some of his sessions and meet him at the last SCBWI conference. Great guy - major talent.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow, Ruth. You are so talented. I love looking at the mural. I'm playing the waiting game in my writing life a lot these days. It makes me impatient. But you had a creative outlet for burning energy, while waiting on your betas to read your story. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  27. play bazaar mainly helping to wealthy people for making so much good money earn and satta king alos in this bike race make money and London and paris

    ReplyDelete