Patricia Stoltey

Author

Getting Back in the Groove

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Boy, getting my eyes fixed was more of an ordeal than I expected. The two cataract surgeries were fine with no hitches, but that two weeks in between when my eyes weren’t working together was even more torture than the problems I had leading up to surgery.

Now at least I can see distance with no glasses and close up with drugstore specs until all the healing is done and I can get new handy dandy reading glasses.

What have I learned during my vision problems?

1. Not being able to write is torture.

2. Not being able to read is even more frustrating than not being able to write.

3. Sitting around whining, “I’m bored,” is even less attractive in adults than it is in kids (and not well-received by other adults–spouses, for instance).

4. Being bored demonstrates a lack of creativity and an inability to relax and enjoy the moment.

5. Sitting in an easy chair and listening to music with eyes closed is a wonderful activity….at least it was once I learned to relax.

One of the things I tried was listening to audiobooks. Software called Overdrive allows me to check book out from the library and listen to them through my laptop.

I’m not accustomed to listening to audiobooks, so I found that I often dozed off or let my mind wander and had to backtrack, sometimes a whole chapter. I listened to Insurgent, but am convinced I would have enjoyed the print version a lot more–I liked Divergent, the first book in the trilogy which I’d read before the eye problems started.

I also started listening to one of my favorite author’s earlier novels and couldn’t get past the way he described every single character’s appearance, including what they were wearing, when they first came into a scene. Now I’ll have to look at his more recent books to see if he finally gave up that pace-destroying practice. If not, then it’s something I didn’t notice when reading print versions.

I doubt I’ll go back to audiobooks as long as I have the choice of reading print books instead.

So, now I’m trying to get back in the writing/reading/blogging/book promotion groove. And I’ll be attending the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference Sept. 5-7. And the Northern Colorado Writers Retreat at the end of October.

Time to get busy.

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Comments

  2. Hope you’re feeling better and quickly on the mend. 🙂 I agree that old style writing would be butchered in edits nowadays. For me, unless the clothes are relevant to the plot, then I don’t’ really care.
    Raquel Byrnes

  4. Hi Pat – glad the eyes seem to be settling down .. and yes realising what we can and can’t do – leads to seeing life in a different way. Whining at being bored .. oh oh .. and I’d sleep through most of it I guess … I always thought audio books for car journeys would be a good idea, or train ones for that matter – just haven’t got to try it yet …

    Take care and enjoy being back into your writing world .. and that conference in two weeks time ..

    Cheers Hilary

  6. Very glad to hear you’re back in the swing of things, Pat! Sorry to hear that listening to audiobooks didn’t work for you. I suppose it’s not everyone’s cuppa. But I agree about closing your eyes and listening to music. Honestly, too, I can’t imagine not being able to experience books…

  7. Alex — I can chuckle now, but I was pretty cranky there for a while.

    Madeline, it would definitely require a period of adjustment.

    Hi Susan — I’ve never even listened to my own novel on audiobook, yet I know some folks who listen to most books that way, even in their cars while commuting to work.

    Karen — definitely an adventure I’d hate to repeat. Too much “relaxation” is bad for me. 😀