Fleas, Flies, and Fodder

You just might be that individual with a set time to write, or you might be the guy that writes on the subway, in the car, during break, while sitting on the toilet, or anywhere else you find yourself with a minute or two.

Something has happend to time. They say it is the same, but it seems to be getting shorter and shorter. I remember when a person had the time to sit on the front porch and watch the neighbors' children fight next door. I remember when adults actually sat and talked about the "good 'ole days." Children would sit close and listen to every word that dropped from grandmother's lips.

Let's face it, if we are going to find time to write we have to be willing to sacrifice something. It is like Indian Jones. We rush into the "temple of writing for children" and see the sacred pen on the pedistal. We quickly look around, searching for something to swap for the pen, and grab a handful of "sand-of-time." We spill half of the sand while trying to place it in a small sack. Then, we carefully try to figure out how much sand can be safely exchanged for time with the sacred pen. We slam down the bag of sand, grab the pen, and rush to our writing place only to find that someone took the chair.

If you are like me, it takes me a little while to warm up to writing. I have to sit a little while and clear my mind of bills, family, appointments, and all things that go bump in the night.

Keep yourself focused on the prize and make yourself write for a couple of hours each day. You will find it very hard to produce anything in less time. You have to crank your own tractor and get it going. The writing "fairy" is not going to come in and sprinkle you with magical writing dust.

It would be a lot easier to write, if you had a nice air conditioned room with a built in stereo. It would really be nice to have voice command technology so that you could say, "CD On!" and it would play your favorite music as you write. Another plus would be to have sound-proof walls to block out all those anoying noises from the neighbors, traffic, and the chef in the kitchen preparing your lunch.

You do know that the above paragraph is a joke, right?

I hope so. In truth, we have to work around so many things, but the most important thing is that we work. You deserve it. I deserve it. We deserve it.

If a man can write a story by the light of a tiny little light bulb in a cold cell, we can find time to write in our situations. Great songs have been written on napkins at restaurants with waiters buzzing from table to table. Great speeches have been written on the back of envelopes and inspired thousands. Some people have even jotted a note on the back of their hand with an ink pen and gone on to develop it into something amazing.

What is all of this blog saying?

Write! Just write. Even if no one will ever see it, write. Put something on paper. Draw a picture. Do something creative. You have it in you! I have it in me. We need to write!