Crawling Forward

Now Playing: DESPAIR by Hans Zimmer
Just Read: READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline--Great book! This one was pretty inspirational for me, an interesting and intricate look at a possible future. Well plotted and fun!
Reading Now: MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt

The death of many would-be writers is stagnation. Time they could be writing is instead spent doing other things, and the writing just never happens. It's insidious and lethal, and I'm trying my hardest to avoid it.

The opportunity to put writing aside is so easy. I have clinical every day. I have graduate school assignments and tests and papers. I'm trying to buy a house. I love spending time with my wife watching our favorite TV shows. It's perfect weather for the pool. I want to make sure I get a workout in every day. For others it's work, kids, pets, vacations . . . endless reasons.

And none of these things are bad! They're all good--going to the gym on a day off isn't a bad habit, it's a great habit. But it's also time not spent writing. I can't look at any of these other taxes on my time and think, "Well, if i just cut down on the ____, I'll be a better writer for it." I'm not binge watching Game of Thrones instead of writing (yet).

That's why I changed my outlook this year, to make sure I stayed positive and moving the right direction. Moving AT ALL is the goal--stagnation is the enemy. I've got my notebooks in which to jot thoughts, Twitter to follow writers and editors and agents and keep up with some news, my notes app to plot story ideas, and, sometimes, when I can, my computer to write actual, real prose.

Today was one of those days. I hammered out--and it wasn't easy, wasn't without rust--about 1,000 words or so on a story that I think is ambitious but could be good, if I can pull it off. I'd love to finish it this week because I'm going away next weekend, and a magazine it might be good for has open submissions this week. Wish me luck! I'm going to get back to it, and see if I can write just a little bit more.