The new routine

Folks,

I'm really getting used to the new life, and it's so different from life in Heredia. One of the most important things for writing, and I've read this again and again, is to have a routine. SO I've really been working on that. Otherwise three months could fly by very quickly and it could be little more than a holiday.

The pic of the week shows one of the sunsets during the week. It was quite cloudy, so I didn't see the actual sun set. But when it did there was a magnificent change of colour in the sky.

Media withdrawal
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Now that I've moved, without a doubt the most difficult thing for me is not to have access to internet. Without internet or a TV I feel completely cut off from the world. I feel like a 9/11 could happen and I won't find out about it until the following Wednesday or Saturday. Well, that's not strictly true, because I'm in the supermarket most days and I do get to glance at the headlines. But I do miss the internet access so much.

My projects
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First let me tell you what I'm actually doing. I'm not writing a book, as many people think (well, not yet!). I have four projects that I'm mainly working on.

The first is a correspondence course in writing with The Writers Bureau in the UK. I have ten books to study, and ten assignments to do over the course. I email these assignments to my tutor, and she gives me feedback. The emphasis in the first part is in writing non-fiction articles for newspapers and magazines. For writers, this is where the bankable money is. Later it will get into fiction.

The second project is related to this, and this is where I am myself looking at publications, analysing them, and identifying what I could write that they may be willing to buy and publish. Initially, I'm looking at a lot of stuff on the web, because I don't have access to too many English language publications here. I'm mostly looking for places that would be interested in articles on Costa Rica or on teaching English abroad.

The third is a book called The Artist's Way. This is a 12 week course (which exactly coincides with my time in the casita) which aims to reawaken your creative side. I have started this course twice before, but only ever got to week 4 because of pressure of time and letting other things get in the way. Now I have no excuse.

And the fourth is a book called The Right to Write. It's by the same woman as The Artist's Way, but is specifically focused on creativity in writing and unblocking.

So between these four projects, I have quite a full day of tasks and activities.

Daily routine
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Everything I read about writing has emphasised the importance of routine. Of 'showing up at the page'. So I have got a very disciplined daily routine at this stage.


I get up early. People who know how much I'm not a morning person will be surprised at that. But I'd got into the habit of having earlier days towards the end of my time in Heredia. It's mainly because in the rainy season the best part of the day is in morning. And anyway, it's dark after six, so it's better to get up early and have more of the day.

So I get up, get this, between 6.30 and 7. I get up and go out on the porch, into the hammock, and write my morning pages. The morning pages are a type of journal that I keep, and is a requirement of The Artist's Way. I write about anything and everything that is on my mind. Then I have breakfast, a cup of good Irish tea, and have my shower.

I'm back out on the porch for about 7.45, and I start working through my tasks. I prepare the list the night before. I work at the table out on the porch with my computer, but if I have to read things I either sit in the wooden armchair, which has the best view, or the hammock, which is the most comfortable.

I work through until about 1, and then I have lunch, and a little 20 minute 'power' nap. This nap is my secret to being able to keep up with the early starts. Then I'm back into working from about 2 and I finish at 5. After that, I go down to the beach most days with my book, and get ready to watch the sunset.

I do this six days a week, my day off being Sunday. On Sundays, I have a lie-in (until about 9!) and spend most of my day on the beach. On Wednesdays and Saturdays I go down with my laptop to the internet place, and upload and download stuff to read and write offline when I get back to the casita.

Sunsets
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I can't tell you how much I love the sunsets. They are quite fast here. It's a 10 minute walk to the beach, and everything happens between 5.45, when it's still bright, but the sky is beginning to get orangey, and 6.15 when it's dark. Often there is cloud because it's rainy season, so you don't see the actual sun itself setting. But the changes in the light as the last rays of the sun catch the various levels of cloud is truly breathtaking. I used to watch it from the porch, but when you're on the beach you have it around you in every direction. In the sky and also reflected in the water. If the tide is in it's reflected in the full ocean. If the tide is out it's reflected in the wet sand. I keep taking photos of it, but they always look the same. But when you're there, every evening is different. Sometimes I look at the clouds and try to imagine what way the light will go tonight, and I'm constantly surprised.
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Well, that's it for this week. Wednesday is a bank holiday, not that that will mean much to me. It's to celebrate the annexation of Guanacaste and Nicoya. I'm now living on the Nicoya peninsula, and it was part of Nicaragua in the past. The día del anexión celebrates when it became part of Costa Rica.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

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