Out of the Habit

I tell myself that I must write every day in order to be a writer. Writers write. The very word describes the act. After taking a long hiatus from writing in order to have my kids, I have said that I will never be without writing again because it adds so much to my life. All of that is true, but if I take even one day without putting the pen to the paper (I tend to write in longhand and then type it so it becomes a second draft at the end of the typed version), I can make that day stretch into a week with very little effort.

I've had a busy week. That's the excuse I use and it's actually true, but the truth is irrelevant. Time never opens up to us. We must make time for the things that are important to us. I can't blame the weather, or the fact that I'm tired, or rationalize that I'll get to it tomorrow. When I'm out of the habit of writing daily, I find it very hard to get back into it.

There is something about training your mind to sit down at a certain point in the day and work. The creative process is best served by this kind of a schedule. I look forward to that chance all day, but if I put it off once, I can quite easily come up with a list of why I deserve to put it off again, and then I go to bed at night with that little stirring of disquiet because I missed the chance I had to put some words on paper.

Last night I made a to-do list for writing. If it's in front of me, waiting to be crossed off my list, my chances of actually doing the task go up significantly. It's odd because when I received my screenplay from my friend in LA, I was bursting with ideas to do a short re-write, and start querying agents to move to the next step. The excitement was palpable as the dream has been slowly inching its way to this moment for twenty-one years. And yet I dodge what I need to be doing. I'm working on other projects here and there, but avoiding what I should be doing. Is that human nature, or simply MY human nature?

Either way, I'm going to improve, starting today. I'm going to progress, day by day, on my writing goals. I'm not going to take time off. I've taken enough time off. Now is the time to capture the words that are in my mind and my heart; to catch them and collect them into some semblence of order that means something to me and will hopefully bring meaning and inspiration to others.

If you could use a laugh this morning, head on over to Gear4Guys and check out my newest article on the doghouse page, about men and sickness. I hope writing for this website won't cause issues in my marriage, but I think the article covers a common relationship dynamic for most men and women. And while you are over there, look into buying a membership card for your man for just $20 for a year. They recently announced that you can get movie passes for Empire Theatres for just $8.50 a pass with your membership card - that's $4 off the regular admission price! Go on over and have a quick read. I'm enjoying the comedy writing and would love to hear what you think.