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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

A Writing Companion

Writing is a solitary occupation. I do most of my writing sitting in my La-Z-Boy chair or if I want a change of scenery, I head out to a café.

When I write at home, I have an assistant. Here she is…meet Bella.


Bella’s job—as she sees it:

1. To make sure I don’t suffer from bottom spread. She nags me with loud barks when it’s time for me to do some exercise.

2. To take regular meal breaks. Again, her barking gets my attention, but she also comes to me chair and makes sure I haven’t missed the message that it’s food time.

3. To collect the mail. She likes to know that we can afford to pay for her food during the coming month and likes checks almost as much as I do.

4. To discourage door-to-door salesmen. No one should distract her partner when she’s in writing mode.

5. To suggest plotting breaks. She signals this by appearing with a tennis ball or her favorite toy.

6. To dispense cuddles when the writing isn’t going well. She edges her way onto my chair, nudging the laptop out of the way.

We have a pretty good partnership, Bella and I, and her excellent understanding of what makes a happy author brings fun to my writing process.


Do you have someone who helps you during the writing process or keeps you company when you’re reading?

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy called Bella. Her latest release is Past Regrets, a contemporary romance from Samhain Publishing. To learn more about Shelley and her books visit her website at www.shelleymunro.com 

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Aw, so sweet!

I have 2 assistants because I'm greedy like that. One, a heavy lab, keeps my feet warm or provides a footrest. The other, a lively border collie, does the hard work - like reminding me I need to go for a long walk, or have a game of catch. I'd never cope without them. :)

Rita said...

Ahhh! What a cute helper. Sadly I have no companions unless you count the lizards who live on the deck :-(

Toni Anderson said...

I love that rakish patch Bella! She looks so gorgeous. Mine companion is shaking and scratching--uh oh!!!

Rita--I love lizards :)

Elise Warner said...

Bella sounds like the perfect partner. I had Jackie for almost sixteen years. Excellent in the cuddles department.

Anne Marie Becker said...

Aw, sweet Bella. She looks like a very efficient assistant. :) We just adopted 2 kitties this summer, bringing us to 4 cats. And that's it. Then, of course, there are the 3 kids who are like anti-assistants, but they keep me balanced. LOL

Mary Kirkland said...

I have three rats that sit in their cage and give me the 'look' until I go take them out and play with them. Lucky will sometimes sit on my shoulder while I'm on the computer but his constant game of get the earring, sometimes makes it hard to concentrate. lol

Bella is so gorgeous.

Jean Harrington said...

No I have no Dexter in my life, but how about this idea for keeping a writer writing? I read somewhere recently that Victor Hugo used to write in the nude. He'd give his clothes to a servant so he wouldn't be able to go out and would have to keep plotting away. Probably a specious story, but I love it.

Shelley Munro said...

Thanks, everyone. I have to admit that Bella is a big part of our lives. She's cute and has a great personality.

Shirley - Border collies are gorgeous. If we had more land we'd definitely love to have a collie. They never stop.

Shelley Munro said...

Rita - I've been watching a new British crime series about a stuffy British cop who is transferred to the Caribbean. He insists on wearing a suit despite the heat and he has this green lizard that's residing in his rickety beach house. It's very amusing.

Shelley Munro said...

Toni - the scratching is always a concern!

Elise - our last dog passed at a similar age. She was very different and didn't abide cuddles for long.

Shelley Munro said...

Elise - husbands fit into the anti-assistant category too. They can be very trying!

Shelley Munro said...

Mary - lol. The gnawing on earrings would get a bit distracting!

Shelley Munro said...

Jean - that's a very extreme way of making sure your butt stays in front of the computer :)

Clare London said...

How cute is she? LOL Much prettier - and more responsive! - than my poor old goldfish, who swims around peering at my tapping away :)

Sandra Cox said...

Hey Shelley, Looks like you've got a good partnership going;)

Shelley Munro said...

Clare - I've given up on goldfish. I always manage to kill them off.

Shelley Munro said...

Sandra - Bella is the perfect companion.

J Wachowski said...

You are so lucky, Shelley. My companions are under the impression, they're the Boss & I'm the assistant. Cats. What can you do?

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