The LadyKillers: Scolding Ingrid and Defiant Dolores

Oooo, our topic this week is “munchies and mysteries” my favorite topic! NOT.

Since my first book came out last July, I have packed on eight (8, yes count them, eight) pounds. Although over the years I’ve gradually porked up, this is a new and exciting adventure in weight gain. The question isn’t how I’ve gained the weight; it’s why? How is easy. Munchies. And eating too much at meals. And drinking too much wine. Too much celebration…and too little self-discipline.

Wait, self-discipline? But I’ve got that in spades. It takes self-discipline to write books. And more self-discipline to learn the art of promotion. It takes self-discipline because these things are hard. It takes time and energy and focus to plan and write blog posts, and to arrange and carry through book readings and to engage on social media. No matter how much fun I’m having with two books coming out in one year, it takes a lot of energy. And that doesn’t even touch on needing to get on with writing that next book. More energy. More self-discipline.

Self-discipline means making choices to spend your time wisely. It means writing that post when you’d rather be reading the delicious new Catriona McPherson book. It means facing the blank page and sweating out a viable plot rather than going out to lunch with a friend who is blissfully not going to talk about the business of writing. It means writing emails to booksellers and bloggers to get your name on their rosters rather than playing a computer game.

I recently read a study that said people who make choices all day weaken as the day goes on. Early in the day they make choices that are good for them. Later in the day, not so much. Maybe that’s why when I want a cookie at 11 a.m. it’s not hard to say no. But by 4 p.m. my choice-machine is out of gas and I don’t stand a chance against the cookies. It means that when the second glass of wine sings its siren song, my weight-control voice (whom I call Scolding Ingrid) is overwhelmed by Defiant Dolores, the what-the-hell voice.

Scolding Ingrid tells me to keep carrots and celery close at hand while I’m writing so when I need something to munch on, I’ll reach for them. Really? Can celery possible win, when even though the chocolate drawer is closed I still hear its muffled song of seduction? Does a carrot stand a chance against a gluten-free ginger cookie? Ingrid says, "If you can't resist them, don't buy them." Dolores tells her to get lost!

In the interest of making my good choice more attractive and my bad choice less attractive, I’ve decided I have to rename my munchie voices. Goodbye Defiant Dolores, hello Demonic Dora. Goodbye Scolding Ingrid, hello Helpful Hannah….or Supportive Sara….or Encouraging Elizabeth….or anything that will work.