Learning in the car

Writer's are a strange lot. We are in awe of our friends, we cheer their successes and we try to make them feel better if they get down.

Authors love to share information. A friend of mine, told me time and time again, I should listen to the Creative Penn podcasts by Joanna Penn. I told myself I had heard it all before. My time would be best spent creating the next bestseller, working on my blog, website, Facebook page or the fifty other things my publisher listed that would bring me along in the marketing department.

On a recent trip to Tulsa I  intended to listen to my IPod. Thing is, I couldn't find it so I listened to Abraham/Esther Hicks CD's  a friend from church gave me. I learned a lot so I don't feel like I wasted my time.

I learned long ago the value of listening while driving. When I worked for Sears Roebuck and Co. I traveled. Did you know that if you stay in the range of the same radio station, they play the same song in the top twenty every forty-seven minutes?

Anyone who has traveled for their job knows that windshield time is a real downer. Before I transferred here from St. Louis, I listened to all the tapes in the St. Charles County Library system. When I moved here, I listened to every book in the Springfield Library system.

I went through the contemporary novels first, then self- help,  the classics and finally the philosophers. Time in the car flew and I wasn't nearly as tired as I was when I remained bored listening to music. Music is great, but one year I drove 24000 miles for my job.

FYI, I am the person you want on your trivia team. For some reason, odd facts stay with me and odd facts come up in trivia games.

Yes, I have a point. Some of you already do this, for the rest of you, I am going to make a suggestion. Use your driving time to learn. You need not be a writer to expand your horizons. There are many CD's on gardening, knitting, bookkeeping, beekeeping, photography, star gazing and on and on.

In just a trip to the grocery store, you can get in a chapter or two.

For those of you who write, I suggest Hugh Howie's podcast, The Creative Penn or Steven King's writing. Those will send you off chasing other fine offerings by the guests on these venues.

Lastly, listening to successful people in your field keeps you motivated. They are upbeat, entertaining and informative. I bet gardening or photography CD's would do the same thing.

Okay, back to the Twisted Mind of Cletus Compton, my latest novel. I promised myself I would have edited by the end of this week so someone can read it.

(Once you meet Cletus Compton, you will sleep with the lights on!)