The decision to Try to Try

For a while now I have held aspirations to become an accomplished writer. This particular desire has turned out to be slightly different from my other aspirations such as....running for President, joining a group of cat whisperers, completing a triathlon, winning the National CLUE tournament (do they even have those?), joining NASA on a mission in space....you get the gist. I have thought quite a bit about focusing on my writing, day dreamed about it, read as many books as I could and called it research. The one thing I haven't actually done is focus on my writing! Each time I forced myself to step outside the hectic schedule and attempt to actually write something I've been hit with writers block.

Now, I have read there is no such thing as writers block and I have even ponder how it could possibly be called writers block when I really haven't actually written anything !?! So last night I got serious with myself. I faced the fact that if this is really something I want do I have to find a way to practice ACTUALLY writing.



The Writer's Workshop

So I sat myself down in front of my computer and began to type. I typed about how I have no idea what to write, I type about how I really needed some idea of how to get past this and I even typed the alphabet just to feel like I was actually writing something. Then I decided to pray, "Lord, your word says that you give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4), if this is you lord please show me how". I wandered off to brush my teeth and think about something different and then it hit me!

In order to work on my writing skills I need to be writing SOMETHING, ANYTHING! It doesn't matter if its earth shattering or an original idea. I don't plan on attempting to get published tomorrow and I have plenty of time just to develop the skills necessary to be a good writer. It dawned on me that I really need to write about the things I am familiar with so that I can develop my skill without obsessing over the actual plot.

I know my life and myself better than anyone so who better to write about? I've made a commitment to writing about the boring daily rituals and attempt to make them interesting, exciting, create detailed images with words. ITS GREAT!

Here is a sample of what I wrote last night:

Nichole turned the faucet on recalling one of the many reasons why she was so desperate to move, the top of faucet knob fell off again. Ignoring the top that was now rolling towards the wall-mounted mirror, she plunged her long fingers under the icy cold current of water with her face quickly following. It was the same ritual each evening; rinse, exfoliate, tone, wait for toner to dry and moisturize! She made sure to dry her hands on an old towel since her moisturizer carried one particular ingredient that just had to be a member of the bleach family. Many towels had entered her bathroom only to leave with discolored scars etched throughout their fibers. Each night she wondered if this towel destroying formula could be any good for her face? However, six years of using this exact same formula had left her with nothing but a clear, smooth, blemish free complexion. She shrugged, again pacified with her answer to the nightly dilemma.

I hope to look back on this post months, even years later and enjoy seeing the development and improvement in my writing. Thank you lord for showing me how.