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November 11, 2015

A Writing Companion and Assistant

Writing is a solitary occupation—at least the first part of the book writing process is done alone. 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.

Assistant 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?

5 Comments

  1. Maria Zannini

    I remember when you first got Bella. She’s such a sweet girl!

    My shadow is Nana, trouble and lightning in one package, but she follows me dutifully. I can’t get up to cross the room before she’s up and by my side.

    • Shelley Munro

      She is a cutie, and it’s weird whenever she’s not around. Your Nana sounds like a real character. Like Nana, Bella helps me out around the house. I never hang out the washing alone. Bella is always there supervising.

  2. Mary Kirkland

    She’s so cute. I got my first dog about a year ago. Falcor was 6 months old when we got him from our apartment manager. She and her husband kept him in his dog pen all the time because they said he was too rambunctious. They didn’t want him when they moved so Ken and I took him in and he loves to sit by us, and let us know when it’s time for food or time to go outside. He’s even got me walking outside more. Dogs are good companions for sure.

    • Shelley Munro

      That’s sad about the cage. Puppies are rambunctious (love that word!) but if you set boundaries they learn quickly. I’ve enjoyed seeing your pics of Falcor.

  3. Heather L

    What a great assistant! :D