The Writing Process Possessed
While pondering the process of writing I perused past attempts, and found this little gem:
One of the troubles with being a writer is that you need to have everything in your writing area “just right.” Otherwise, you tend to become distracted. Of course, one writer’s “just right” is another writer’s “just wrong.”
In my case, I need a completely sterile writing environment. While others prefer clutter and papered chaos, I value neat, clean and tidy. Some believe that those who possess real genius have desks full of clutter and last month’s half-eaten sandwiches buried alive. Yummy. Guess I’m the other side of genius. My desk is dust-free, stink-free, sunny and pleasant. If not, then I may fixate on that which needs attention—cleaning!
While cleaning may not be as productive as writing, it’s easier than filling a blank page with words. Back in the good old school days, we joked over how incredibly clean our rooms and houses got during exam time.
Now, when I sit in my favorite chair at my impressive cherry desk with great expectations and true intentions of writing, I quickly notice every speck of dust. I rise to the occasion, and attack that diseased dust with the most advanced tools of the trade-- a cloth and some spray-stuff. There! Now I can work in peace and cleanliness without sneezing!
Just let me put the tools away first, but oh! Look! That needs dusting over there....Two tired hours later, the room is dust-free and the paper is word-free. Guilt sets in.
Well, I can change the laundry over real quick! Dump the trash. Empty the dishwasher. Boy, I’m hungry. And lonely. Think I’ll go out for lunch. But first, a shower. I’m a bit sweaty.
Gorged on lunch, and now I’m full and too sleepy to sit at the computer. Perhaps a short, brisk walk will perk me up. Besides, I need the exercise, with such a sedentary vocation.
Five O’clock! How did that happen? It’s time for family and dinner prep. I’ll start that article tomorrow. After all, the house is now clean, so I shouldn’t have THAT distraction tomorrow. Just the distraction of a too-clean white page.
Well, that was pathetically revealing. Should have learned earlier to "write for the bin." Perfectionism should have no place in the writing process, however it may work in the editing department. Unfortunately, I'm my editing department.
Happy writing, writers!
P.S. How do you know you are a writer? A successful writer had this to say: "If you wake up in the morning thinking of writing, you're a writer." I wake up between 1:00am and 3:00am "writing" in my head. No blank page to block this writer's stage.
One of the troubles with being a writer is that you need to have everything in your writing area “just right.” Otherwise, you tend to become distracted. Of course, one writer’s “just right” is another writer’s “just wrong.”
In my case, I need a completely sterile writing environment. While others prefer clutter and papered chaos, I value neat, clean and tidy. Some believe that those who possess real genius have desks full of clutter and last month’s half-eaten sandwiches buried alive. Yummy. Guess I’m the other side of genius. My desk is dust-free, stink-free, sunny and pleasant. If not, then I may fixate on that which needs attention—cleaning!
While cleaning may not be as productive as writing, it’s easier than filling a blank page with words. Back in the good old school days, we joked over how incredibly clean our rooms and houses got during exam time.
Now, when I sit in my favorite chair at my impressive cherry desk with great expectations and true intentions of writing, I quickly notice every speck of dust. I rise to the occasion, and attack that diseased dust with the most advanced tools of the trade-- a cloth and some spray-stuff. There! Now I can work in peace and cleanliness without sneezing!
Just let me put the tools away first, but oh! Look! That needs dusting over there....Two tired hours later, the room is dust-free and the paper is word-free. Guilt sets in.
Well, I can change the laundry over real quick! Dump the trash. Empty the dishwasher. Boy, I’m hungry. And lonely. Think I’ll go out for lunch. But first, a shower. I’m a bit sweaty.
Gorged on lunch, and now I’m full and too sleepy to sit at the computer. Perhaps a short, brisk walk will perk me up. Besides, I need the exercise, with such a sedentary vocation.
Five O’clock! How did that happen? It’s time for family and dinner prep. I’ll start that article tomorrow. After all, the house is now clean, so I shouldn’t have THAT distraction tomorrow. Just the distraction of a too-clean white page.
Well, that was pathetically revealing. Should have learned earlier to "write for the bin." Perfectionism should have no place in the writing process, however it may work in the editing department. Unfortunately, I'm my editing department.
Happy writing, writers!
P.S. How do you know you are a writer? A successful writer had this to say: "If you wake up in the morning thinking of writing, you're a writer." I wake up between 1:00am and 3:00am "writing" in my head. No blank page to block this writer's stage.
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