Writing

"Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write."
(Paul Rudnick)

Well, it’s four in the morning, and here I am.

Procrastination; writer’s block; laziness; call it what you may – I’ve experienced them all. That, coupled with self-doubt, (the curse of creativity, I’m told), can be crippling.

And just when I think I wasn’t meant to be a writer - that perhaps I need to focus my time on something else - I get a sign. Sometimes it’s internal – a feeling I get that Rudnick describes, urging me to write – and sometimes it’s external – someone reads one of my blogs for the first time and calls me immediately to tell me how much they enjoy my writing.

And then, I sit down again, staring at this blinking cursor, and loose myself in words for a few hours. And I feel better.

Writing isn’t always easy, and it’s not always pretty, but it is always satisfying. Anne Lamott describes is perfectly:

“Even if only the people in your writing group read your stories, even if you only wrote your story so that one day your children would know what life was like when you were a child… still, to have written your version is an honorable thing to have done. Against all odds, you have put it down on paper so that it won’t be lost. And who knows? Maybe what you’ve written will help others, will be a small part of the solution.”

So I will continue to blog, even if it is just for myself.

And for those who follow me, I thank you. I’ve been told I need to figure out a way to advertise my blog better. (I’m not sure if those telling me this are just being nice, of if they really mean it, but I’m focusing on the positive these days and going with the latter!)

I have bought a book – Google Blogger for Dummies (I won’t repeat what my family has read into that title) – and signed up for a class, “Blogging for Business and Fun” with the hopes of learning more.

If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to comment. If you would like to find out when I submit a new post but aren’t signed up as a follower – sign up dammit!

Just kidding! While it is relatively easy to create a Google account and become a follower, (if I did it, anyone can) you can also email me and I will keep you updated.

And now, on with the show…again!

Things I Need to Do:

WRITE
Clean the cabinets
Organize my files
WRITE
Clean the bathrooms
Exercise
WRITE
Clean out the basement
Put away our summer clothes
Weed our garden (Oh fine, who am I kidding? I mean weed the whole yard!)
WRITE
Check in with my son and make sure he really is attending classes at college
Read my book club book
Tackle my sewing/mending pile (although by now, my kids have outgrown the shorts and shirts that need mending, so maybe I can cross this off my list!)
Update my calendar/address book/phone for a new school year
WRITE
Walk the dogs
Pay the bills
Due the laundry
Go food shopping
WRITE
Change the sheets
Browse the Internet
Think of things I need to do besides...
WRITE

How will I do?
Stay tuned...