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Writing in Pajamas

pajamas

Peach pj’s on the line

I just spent 5 days editing without changing out of my pajamas. It seemed a good time to share an old guest post I had the honor of contributing to Seumas Gallacher’s wonderful blog. Thus…Writing in Pajamas.

To me, flannel pajamas are symbolic. Whenever I get the chance, I wear them all day, and in case you were wondering, I’m pj-clad as I type this post.

In my mother’s generation, all-day pajamas indicated a mortifying degree of sloth. Pinch-lipped gossips would roll their eyes toward heaven, conjuring images of beer before breakfast, dust bunnies, and soap operas. If a woman wore pajamas all day, she certainly didn’t chair the holiday bazaar or volunteer at the library. Her kids lacked appropriate moral supervision and, no doubt, roamed the neighborhood like hooligans. Never mind her neglected spouse nibbling TV dinners after a long day at the plant.

My guess is some people still think that way, and now and then, they’re probably not wrong. Yet, I never ascribed to that characterization. My pajamas epitomize the wonderful and rare days when I can slide from bed straight into writing mode. I rouse myself to pour more coffee and toss a log in the woodstove, but that’s about it. No volunteering, no grocery shopping, no babysitting, the house to myself…It’s a bit of creative heaven.

If I’m still in my woolly slippers and snowman pajamas when the clock strikes two, I’m at my peak, fulfilling a mission, playing God. Worlds are being created and razed, characters loved and destroyed. Pathos, humor, desperation, joy, and death tap like magic from my fingertips. Who has time to get dressed with a universe in the throes of chaos?

Sometimes I go a touch far, I’ll admit. I want to hold onto that “this day is mine, mine, mine” feeling. I cling to the illusion that I haven’t surrendered my creative immersion to other tasks. There are days when my pajama-wearing mulishness raises eyebrows.

None of you, hopefully, is shocked by my occasional dash in slippers and assorted-fruit flannels to retrieve something from the car or the shed. You all do that, right? And, you’ve gone to the mailbox and…um, walked the dog? Those are things normal people do in pajamas, don’t they?

Of course, I don’t stop there. Yesterday, I split wood in my slippers and snowflake pj’s, an almost farcical feat for which there are no pictures, thank the stars. Still in my pajamas, I’ve visited my neighbor to pick up my weekly goat’s milk supply, and on occasion, I’ve stopped in at the post office to mail books. I frequently wear my slippers to meetings. (If they want me to volunteer, they can deal with my choice of footwear, right?) And if I feel the need to dress up all fancy, I change the bottom half into jeans and yank a sweatshirt over the green turtles adorning the top.

I live in the northwest Oregon mountains outside a dinky town where everyone knows everyone else. I get away with this peculiar behavior because I’m a fantasy author. I’m permitted to be a bit eccentric. If they don’t remember me for my books, they’ll remember me as a lunatic. I’m fine either way.

To be honest, the real reason for my overindulgence in sleepwear is that once my little forays into the normal world are accomplished, I can return to my chair, my coffee, and my laptop without missing a beat. Wearing my pajamas is the bridge that keeps me connected to the fantastical side of my imagination. I relegate the outside world to a space between two parentheses, so the stories inside my head can continue unabated. That’s where I prefer to spend my time, and pajamas give me permission to dream.

208 thoughts on “Writing in Pajamas”

  1. dorne whale says:
    January 3, 2017 at 10:40 am

    Reblogged this on Write Dorne – Putting life into words. and commented:
    To be lost in the moment – lovely.
    Enjoyed this post and so I am reblogging it on Write Dorne.
    Thanks to D Wallace Peach and thanks to you for dropping by.
    Dorne x

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      January 5, 2017 at 11:42 am

      Thank you so much for the reblog! I’m sorry about the delay in replying. I’m officially coming out of my holiday fog tomorrow 🙂 Have a happy, healthy, heartful New Year!

      Like

  2. Gin says:
    January 1, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    I love this piece with all my heart 😆

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Writing in Pajamas — Myths of the Mirror | Arrowhead Freelance and Publishing says:
    December 30, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    […] via Writing in Pajamas — Myths of the Mirror […]

    Liked by 1 person

  4. davefrantony says:
    October 25, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    Flannel pajams….splitting logs…..coffee, it’s the only way to lose your inhibitions and to write with freedom.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Scott J. Clemons says:
    October 9, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    “Who has time to get dressed with a universe in the throes of chaos?”

    This is the exact question I ask myself every morning, except less ‘with a universe in the throes of chaos’ and more ‘with this cat laying in my lap.’

    Liked by 1 person

  6. clay1waters says:
    October 3, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    This is amazing. Very well said!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. humansjourneyblog says:
    September 2, 2016 at 6:16 pm

    you are so funny, you were joking, right o.o ? ..Actually I do the same but I don’t go out with them on.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. sargondorsai says:
    August 19, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    I enjoy the ritual of getting dressed in the morning. It helps me to wake up as I help the kids get ready for their day. Then again, my idea of pajamas isn’t exactly appropriate for most out of the home activities, so that might have something to do with it.

    Either way, I enjoyed this post. I can picture you shuffling around the house with pen and paper in hand, doing your writing. Thank you for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      August 19, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      We all have our rituals, I think, that signal the start of the day. I’m usually glued to my recliner, laptop open, coffee at the elbow by 5 AM. Thanks for the visit and have a great weekend!

      Liked by 1 person

      • sargondorsai says:
        August 19, 2016 at 6:04 pm

        I wake up when the kids wake up in the summer. Otherwise I’m up before the sun to get the kids ready for school.

        Either way, I’m still on the recliner at my desk. Yes, that’s right. I use a recliner instead of a computer chair. Mostly for medical reasons but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. sukritiz✨✨ says:
    August 9, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Love it

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Depraved Imaginings says:
    July 31, 2016 at 11:52 pm

    It’s interesting how we need to do things so intrinsic to our daily lives in order to transcend them. Whether its you staying in PJs, or the sci-fi writer who needs to sit in the comfort of their room in order to write about imaginary worlds.This post was funny and undoubtedly refreshing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      August 1, 2016 at 5:22 am

      Thank you for the comment. We are strange animals with our little rituals. 🙂 And the other worlds in our heads? I have to remind myself to check in with the “real” world every now and then. Have a great week and thanks for the visit!

      Like

  11. Writing in Pajamas | Socially Accepted Madness says:
    July 30, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    […] Source: Writing in Pajamas […]

    Like

  12. Jude H says:
    July 30, 2016 at 1:42 am

    Honestly, a whole day in pyjamas is a day well spent! They’re the best writing attire there is! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  13. vaish963 says:
    July 22, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    Nailed it

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Holistic Wayfarer says:
    July 18, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    My favorite post here. Enjoyed the writing and…we do goat milk, too. Although the best we could get is TJs (no luck whacking the bushes). But back to the point, why wouldn’t we want to be at our most comfortable doing what we love most?

    Liked by 1 person

  15. stevetanham says:
    June 13, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    Lovely image of your cosy dedication! That’s very single-minded stuff..

    Liked by 1 person

  16. cathleentownsend says:
    June 10, 2016 at 7:25 am

    I can totally relate. On my writing days, I make myself a deal. I can’t eat until I shower and change.

    This is good both for my diet (because breakfast doesn’t happen), and it forces me to dress. Eventually. One day I stuck it out until dinner time anyway. I kept thinking, “Just let me get to the end of this chapter first.”

    Liked by 1 person

  17. penneyvanderbilt says:
    June 5, 2016 at 9:42 am

    Reblogged this on PenneyVanderbilt.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Mahevash says:
    June 3, 2016 at 2:05 am

    “Pajamas give me permission to dream.”

    Loved that line SO MUCH!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. L. T. Garvin, Author says:
    June 2, 2016 at 2:08 pm

    I like it….I have been known to wear my pajamas way too much during winter time, which is about two weeks in Texas, lol. We are already into tank tops and shorts weather and will be through October. I did wear tye-dye t-shirts for about a week, even to the point that the California guy started looking at me sideways. Writers need to be comfortable and choose the best clothing for imagination processing 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Tara Sparling says:
    June 2, 2016 at 8:31 am

    I wrote poetry to my pyjamas once. Not in them. To them. I might have been in them at the time, but it was out of overwhelming love I wrote a poem to them. I am not jealous of your pyjamability at all, no Ma’am. Even if your routine is the kind of existence to which every writer aspires. But I will say that it’s possible I love my pyjamas so much because when I am in them, I am categorically not in the office. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Sean P Carlin says:
    June 1, 2016 at 5:47 pm

    What a fantastic tribute, Diana, to the idiosyncrasies of the creative spirit! One of the great gifts of being a writer is the ability to do your work in whatever state you choose. I love that your sleepwear is the totem that brings you into the world in which you’re most comfortable, like Indiana Jones’ fedora and bullwhip, or Harry Potter’s robe and wand. Really lovely essay.

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      June 1, 2016 at 6:52 pm

      Thanks, Sean. It was a wee bit embellished, but not much. I did weed my back patio is pajamas today during my writing breaks. 😀 I should invest in a magic robe – that would shock the neighbors. Thanks for the visit!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Sean P Carlin says:
        June 1, 2016 at 8:53 pm

        Most of my own anecdotes are embellished a bit, too; storytelling, after all, is the art of taking the mundane and making it both entertaining and meaningful.

        Liked by 1 person

  22. America On Coffee says:
    June 1, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    NICE, LOVING WARMTH!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. reocochran says:
    June 1, 2016 at 11:01 am

    I am usually heading off to work or coming home, so I have fun thinking about future pajama blogging days! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      June 1, 2016 at 11:14 am

      Perfect time to dream about pjs, Robin. I imagine you have to dress for wandering about taking photos, but hopefully some lazy pj mornings in your future 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • reocochran says:
        June 1, 2016 at 6:03 pm

        I have those lazy moments, Diana. Last weekend, I ran through the McD’s drive thru to pick up pancakes, bacon, butter, juice for my little grandson, plus two egg, cheese, bacon biscuits and two coffees for my Mom and I. Why would I do this when her dining room serves breakfast (free for guests)? Because we overslept the 10:00 am deadline!! And I did have a rather large T-shirt and flannel (p.j.) capri’s. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Trinity says:
    May 31, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    I can so relate! Several years ago I was on a street theatre troupe around Britain for about 18 months; when we neared home with time off (Paisley, Scotland), I would have what I called a “PJ-Day” – if anyone came by, I’d just tell them through the peep-hole that I was in my PJs, and couldn’t open the door… it gave this introvert an excuse to pull back and recharge! And now, as an author, I can get cosy and focus on the essential – my next manuscript! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      May 31, 2016 at 4:30 pm

      I think you have more friends than I do! Ha ha. No one comes by here and if they did I think they’d come in anyway. But what a great trick to get a peaceful day of creativity! I hope you get a pj-day soon. Happy Writing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Trinity says:
        May 31, 2016 at 4:35 pm

        I don’t get them these days, as we have an exchange student living with us this year, and I never know when she’ll bring home friends from school; I can live with it, as I have “my” time at night, when the rest of the world is sleeping (I don’t need more than 5 hours, which is practical!!). 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      • Susan Gutterman says:
        June 1, 2016 at 10:59 am

        Your writing is captivating and I can’t wait to read more. I just saw that you followed my blog, Photoquest. Thank you! However, my active blog is now Musinwithsusan. Take a look, if you have a chance.

        Liked by 2 people

  25. heylookawriterfellow says:
    May 31, 2016 at 10:32 am

    With all due respect, if you need to chop wood, you can put to on some honest-to-goodness pants. Sheesh!

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Dorinda Duclos says:
    May 31, 2016 at 10:00 am

    This brought back memories of some of the best days ever! I would stay in pajamas all day if I could!! I’ll just have to live vicariously through you 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  27. tedgiffin says:
    May 31, 2016 at 1:54 am

    I chuckled over this, because I will be remembered as a lunatic as well..Great line!

    Liked by 2 people

  28. Khaya Ronkainen says:
    May 30, 2016 at 11:24 pm

    Love, love this, Diana. “It’s a bit of creative heaven” I live in too and the most happiest. Wonderful post. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  29. astridswords says:
    May 30, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    Working in comfort offers a tremendous supply of inspiration.

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      May 30, 2016 at 8:19 pm

      I agree, Astrid. Getting dressed feels like entering the “real” world of duties and chores. Hope you have a chance to enjoy some comfy writing this week. Thanks for the visit.:-)

      Like

  30. Julie says:
    May 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    I’ll take flannel over high heels any day. Great post Diana!

    Liked by 2 people

  31. dgkaye says:
    May 30, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    Here, here to pyjamas! I work in them from home every day. How else are we to write long hours? LOL 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  32. lynne hoareau says:
    May 30, 2016 at 5:55 am

    Hahaha This is Awesome Diana !!! I am still smiling from ear to ear. For me, it just says, you are human, and I love it. I love that you can do that, and I totally agree…usually one’s best work is done in their pj’s 🙂 😉 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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