Writer's Block
I had just spent an entire hour writing a column about my biggest pet peeve, people who don't do what they say they are going to do. I wrote about how it seems that keeping one's word is not considered important anymore. I branched off to talk about how once when a public person makes a comment that generates controversy, instead of backing away from it or saying they were misquoted, taken out of context or were speaking off the record the person should either say that that is what they really think or admit that it was a stupid thing to say and move on.
I wrote about the prevalence of meaningless phrases like how are you and your call is important to us. I wrote about how C and I disagree about what people say when they are angry. I think that anger shuts off the little editor that we all have in our heads that keeps us from saying what we really think. C says that angry people say things out of hurt that they really don't mean.
I read over all that I had written and realised that I didn't like it. I wasn't sure that I wanted to read it if someone had sent it to me, so why should I send it to other people to read.
It took less than five minutes to delete 60 minutes of writing.
The bad part is that now I'm back to square one. What do I write about? A lot of the time I have a clear topic in mind. Today I don't. Nothing has inspired me. I have writer's block.
I think about the movie "Music and Lyrics". The movie is about a has been 80s musician who writes a song for an up and coming popular artist with the help of a woman who comes into his apartment to take care of his plants. (This is a very simplified version of the plot.) They have to come up with one last verse for the song at the request of the young singer. Earlier in the day the musician and the woman have an argument. After a party at the young singer's house, they go to the musician's apartment to write the last verse. They sit in tense silence and nothing happens. Finally the woman (whose name just happens to be Sophie, by the way) says that she can't write because she's not inspired. The musician blows up at her and says that inspiration is for amateurs and that they need to finish the song.
I think the musician is right. It is easy to write when the words are flowing and you have a really great idea. The hard part is figuring out what to do when you don't have anything that grabs you. Even though I'm not a paid columnist or writer, I still have a commitment to writing every week and every other weekend. I treat this as if it were a paying job and not a hobby. So I don't have the option of blowing it off and saying, "well...I'll just skip this week."
I also believe that I am obligated to put out something worth reading. There is enough poor quality writing out there. I should not add to it. I want to write something that will make people think or maybe smile a little.
I'm amazed at some of the things get published. I walked by a magazine rack at work a few days ago and saw the headline "Reese is Pregnant". Wow, that's news. A woman who got married earlier in the year is now pregnant. I wondered why this is worth a headline. The thought popped into my head that 50-60 years ago, no one would ever think to make an announcement of this sort. It would be unseemly.
When I write I want to make sure that what I write is family friendly. While younger people may not understand some of the topics I choose or may be bored by them there is nothing that would be inappropriate for them to see. This is something that I feel very strongly about. I don't have to use bad language, sex or violence. Erma Bombeck never did and she still has many fans even 16 years after her death.
This is the spot where I should write a good conclusion. I'm not good at conclusions. Sometimes I do have a good sense of how I want to wrap things up. Now, unfortunately, is not one of those times. I guess the best thing to do (and the only thing I can think of) is to thank you for reading.
Have a good week.
I wrote about the prevalence of meaningless phrases like how are you and your call is important to us. I wrote about how C and I disagree about what people say when they are angry. I think that anger shuts off the little editor that we all have in our heads that keeps us from saying what we really think. C says that angry people say things out of hurt that they really don't mean.
I read over all that I had written and realised that I didn't like it. I wasn't sure that I wanted to read it if someone had sent it to me, so why should I send it to other people to read.
It took less than five minutes to delete 60 minutes of writing.
The bad part is that now I'm back to square one. What do I write about? A lot of the time I have a clear topic in mind. Today I don't. Nothing has inspired me. I have writer's block.
I think about the movie "Music and Lyrics". The movie is about a has been 80s musician who writes a song for an up and coming popular artist with the help of a woman who comes into his apartment to take care of his plants. (This is a very simplified version of the plot.) They have to come up with one last verse for the song at the request of the young singer. Earlier in the day the musician and the woman have an argument. After a party at the young singer's house, they go to the musician's apartment to write the last verse. They sit in tense silence and nothing happens. Finally the woman (whose name just happens to be Sophie, by the way) says that she can't write because she's not inspired. The musician blows up at her and says that inspiration is for amateurs and that they need to finish the song.
I think the musician is right. It is easy to write when the words are flowing and you have a really great idea. The hard part is figuring out what to do when you don't have anything that grabs you. Even though I'm not a paid columnist or writer, I still have a commitment to writing every week and every other weekend. I treat this as if it were a paying job and not a hobby. So I don't have the option of blowing it off and saying, "well...I'll just skip this week."
I also believe that I am obligated to put out something worth reading. There is enough poor quality writing out there. I should not add to it. I want to write something that will make people think or maybe smile a little.
I'm amazed at some of the things get published. I walked by a magazine rack at work a few days ago and saw the headline "Reese is Pregnant". Wow, that's news. A woman who got married earlier in the year is now pregnant. I wondered why this is worth a headline. The thought popped into my head that 50-60 years ago, no one would ever think to make an announcement of this sort. It would be unseemly.
When I write I want to make sure that what I write is family friendly. While younger people may not understand some of the topics I choose or may be bored by them there is nothing that would be inappropriate for them to see. This is something that I feel very strongly about. I don't have to use bad language, sex or violence. Erma Bombeck never did and she still has many fans even 16 years after her death.
This is the spot where I should write a good conclusion. I'm not good at conclusions. Sometimes I do have a good sense of how I want to wrap things up. Now, unfortunately, is not one of those times. I guess the best thing to do (and the only thing I can think of) is to thank you for reading.
Have a good week.
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