A timer sits approximately 25 inches from me. On the screen, 15 minutes silently digits away as I write. I am beginning again. It is a recurring theme in my life but I will be the last to give up on me. I have the timer set for 15 minutes because I am starting with a new strategy. I have read and heard it said that to be a writer, a person must write. I have also heard the tip, "Set a timer." So here we are.
The other night, my friend JW, came by my house for a visit. She is such a fun person and a dear friend. She looked at me and asked, "Have you written on your blog lately?" I looked into her face. She meant business. And then she asked if I had written on my other blog about love and marriage. "No, I haven't done that either." For a minute I wanted to offer excuses but I stopped myself. The answer to both questions is "No."
Anyway, beginning again. I have been listening to some great online radio shows about creativity, productivity, and getting things done. I think it's helping. I'll write about that help sometimes but most of the advice I've been getting comes from 43folders.com. Merlin Mann is the host. He's a bit of a nerd and talks too much but suddenly, the clouds will part and he'll say something earth shattering. Using a timer is one of the tips. Setting the timer for 15 minutes and writing something, anything during that time, is another one of the tips. Writing everyday for 30 days in order to establish a habit is another tip. I'm beginning with these three tips.
I figure since today is February 1st, it's a great day to begin to establish a writing habit. My goal is to write something on this blog for the next 29 days. It might be just a sentence (The timer just went off). Or maybe I'll bliss out on a topic and it'll be a day long read.
I don't actually want to be writing daily on my blog - I'd rather it be a couple of times a week. Or at least once weekly. And I also want to start writing some of my family stories - not necessarily for my blog - more for myself and my family. I want to develop the writing habit. So for a month, please humor me.
Last night I was in the Meigers store. I was just wandering around looking at stuff. I don't get a chance to do that often either. Anyway, I noticed the books and magazines. I spotted a huge, 1 inch thick novel - The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. She is one of my favorite writers. It's said that you can tell a lot about a book by reading the first paragraph. Here's the first 2 sentences of the first paragraph: "In the beginning were the howlers. They always commenced their bellowing in the first hours of dawn, just as the hem of the sky began to whiten." If those two sentences don't put you there, you're a moron. I can hear those howlers (for me it's coyotes) and I can see that hem of the sky - I've seen it so many mornings. She didn't just toss that off. She takes writing seriously.
On my way to work a few mornings ago, I got to thinking about writing and people who work from the mind. Albert Einstein did not conduct experiments in a lab when he was developing E=mc-squared. His brain was his lab and his conclusions remain unchallenged. I heard that Mark Twain moved into his guest cottage for many months to write Huck Finn. He had thinking to do and look at the result - one of the greatest books ever written. And then there is (the second 15 minutes have just ticked away on the timer) JK Rowling the author of Harry Potter. She wrote a series about a young boy with magical powers and by the end of the series, she seemed personally drained. Brain work, which is writer's work, (and much of scientist's work) is heavy lifting.
I have rambled on here. What I am saying is that I will be doing a daily entry in this blog and in my love and marriage blog. They will mostly be posted at night. This entry would have been done tonight but I'll probably be sleeping - at least I hope so. I went by to see my daughter last night. (And of course to see the little ones). So my daughter fixes dinner for me and asks me if I'd like a cup of coffee. I say sure and she mentions a few types she has and I chose "Fog Lifter." I drank that cup of coffee at 7pm last night and true to it's name, the fog was lifted and I haven't slept a wink. I lay awake all night, yearning for fog but it was all clear skies. Tonight, there must be fog. (The timer just went off again for another 15 minutes). See ya tomorrow.
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