Well, as you can see, I didn't do much blogging in 2010. A whopping two entries in a whole year...seriously? Who am I kidding?
Things have got to change. And soon. I've always considered myself a writer, because I was paid to be one. Last year, however, was the first time since I began my professional writing career in December of 1990 -- 20 years ago, eek! -- that I didn't receive a paycheck for a single writing or editing assignment. And that, friends, is no one's fault but my own. You can't BE a writer if you don't WRITE. Hello? That's a no brainer.
Oh, I can come up with some great excuses for not writing...Hmmmm, let's see: My office/desk is a mess; I homeschool my three children and don't have time to write; The dog ate my notes (no kidding); I have writer's block; I don't feel good; I have no energy; blah, blah, blah. What it all comes down to is this: I just didn't write.
Writer Mary Heaton Vorse once said, "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair." It's not brain surgery, true. It's DISCIPLINE, which can be somewhat akin to brain surgery if you're a free spirited procrastinator. Unfortunately, that's what most of us creative types are. Which is why most writers talk about how fun it is to THINK about writing, GO to writer's conferences, SURF the web, READ books, but the actually writing process...forget about it!!
So... what's a writer to do? A writer friend of mine has just invited me to order a book called Bang the Keys by Jill Dearman, and actually DO something. What a novel idea. (No pun intended.) DO something! Write! After all, I AM a writer. I NEED to bang the keys! If you're a writer, I invite you to do the same.
