I haven't been getting much writing in lately. Know why? I'm avoiding it. There, I said it. I'm not really sure why, except that every time I sit down at the computer, I do everything but write. I check my e-mail, read other blogs, visit writing websites, check the balance -- or lack thereof -- on my bank account (which should be a great motivator for me) -- anything to avoid the actual ACT of writing. Well, I guess I'm writing right now, but you know what I mean -- blogging isn't going to deliver the goods, the dough, the smackers, the greenbacks... OK, I'll stop with the ridiculous money references. Thankfully, I've found that I'm not alone. Playwright Michael Kanin summed it up best, I think, when he said, "I don't like to write, but I love to have written." Jay Asher over at the Disco Mermaids blog even says he hates writing, and his book, Thirteen Reasons Why is coming out in October. And here's a great article by TV writer-turned-novelist Stephen Cannell about why writers hate writing. He really hits the nail on the head with this theory: Bad writing makes us afraid to sit down at the keyboard. Fear of failure leads to lack of effort. (OK, does this guy have a hidden camera in my office?) Cannell's remedy: Give yourself permission to be bad. It's going to happen. It happened to Shakespeare, and Hemingway, and Faulkner, and countless other famous authors. But the difference between these guys and your average writer is that they kept writing. Can I hear an "Amen"? Wow, I'm starting to get motivated now. It's amazing what writing about not writing will do! Well, gotta go -- I think I have an idea for my next book...
