Which are you? Sinister or dexter? Lucky me, I'm both. The ambidexterity of my brain is both blessing and bane. Those two hemispheres constantly whir, night and day, buzzing through words and numbers, scales and poems, equations and paintings.
Anyone else face this dilemma? Where both sides compete for attention, the logical side waving, furious - get that analytic modeling finished, or else! - at the artistic side bending itself silly over a gluttony of words? A poem perchance, or a decent short or essay. Or, by gum, The GAN - Great American Novel. Which is what I'm working on now.
I'm a scientist, and a writer. In between, I do the mom thing and the wife thing and the partner-of-a-minister thing. It's a fun imbalance, a demanding one, but I wouldn't squander a minute of it, not even for a long weekend in a hammock with a good book and a pitcher of Mai Tais. Well, maybe if the vacation was all expenses paid, I might find time to swing down to Aruba.
Here I'll post about my writing life, with smidgeons of musings on science and other marvels thrown in. On how I get it all done. Or not. Usually not. Perhaps I'll be brave and share a snippet or two of poetry, or an excerpt from my novel BRIGHTER THAN BRIGHT, which is closing in to the finish line. Meanwhile, I invite you to share your adventures in juggling science and writing and parenting and partnering and business and everything else that spins your world. Share your secrets on how YOU get it all done with a modicum of sanity and, perhaps, a tad of humor.
Peace, Linda
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YES! I have that exact problem. I remember being in a psych class in high school where we took a left brain/right brain test to see which hemisphere we used more, and I was smack dab in the middle.
ReplyDeleteIt's been true outside of just that test. I spent half my time in college majoring in creative writing, and the other half as an astronomy/physics major. I ended up leaving college to see the world, and because I could never find my niche. When I was a creative writing major, I missed math. When I was doing science, I missed humanities.
Sometimes it feels like I have two separate selves inside me. Even now, I read tarot/astrology, and I'm told I'm very good at it by my customers (I think, knock on wood, so far only ONE person has been unsatisfied with their reading, and it was someone who made me extremely nervous at the outset), and I've seen things I can't explian, but on the other hemisphere, I'm a complete skeptic.
So yes, in a different way, this dilemma is very familiar to me. I look forward to reading how you straddle your bi-hemisphere-ism : ) I can't wait to read more about your writing process, and about the science.
ROCK ON!
I'm basically a creative person and knew from a young age I was an artist. Lucky for me I can funtion in the "other" world when duty calls, but it is always a chore. I would live in the world of images and dreams quite happily 24/7. When I married I gave up my art for several years and then my husband saw some of my work. He kept bugging me to paint. I kept saying you really don't want me to because once I start something I live within it until it is done. He couldn't understand why I couldn't turn the creative process on and off at will and I couldn't explain it. He's very analytical. Luckily, he appreciates my gifts and I appreciate his. I could no more sit in an office and do business like he does all day, than he could live in a story and talk to characters like I do. But to have his personality and mine in the same brain? I don't know how you middle of the road people do it.
ReplyDeleteDeborahB