Encouraging Writing

“You can always edit a bad page.
You can’t edit a blank page.”

The White Void

- Jodi Picoult


In my post yesterday I wrote about PEZs and that my PEZ came to work with me both to the office and my writing.  I have to admit, I was reading blogs in order to not have to write. When I try to avoid writing I end up finding something that encourages me to write...or maybe guilts me into writing?
I like Mellissa Donovan's website Writing Forward    She always has something to inspire.  Even the name, Writing Forward, implies moving along, not dragging my feet. 
The post on November 28 from guest writer Sylvia Nankivell was what prompted me to post after... how many months?  
In thinking about writing daily, I've actually been crippling my writing by trying to "carve out a certain time" or "establish a habit."  I'm not a make-a-plan kind of girl, no matter how much the writing posts say you have to do this. 


Inspiration or Distraction?

I've found three things to be most helpful in trying to write every day:
       1.  Don't plan on writing every day. 
             If I say I'm going to write at a certain time something happens and I can't get to it.  But, if I don't plan and have pen and paper with me at all times, the opportunity presents itself.
       2.  Hang out with writers. 
             It's like church.  You want to be encouraged?  Hang out with the true believers.  I meet at least once a week---church on Tuesdays. 
       3.  Stop worrying about writing well and just write. 
             I know editing is important, but only if there's something on the paper to edit. 

Practice Writing Every Day didn't tell me anything new and profound, but was a reminder that writing is more than something you play at, not if you're serious.  We whine and complain about not having time to write, but it's like anything else.  If you want to do it, you'll find the time. 

The Humanity of Social Media

Oh the humanity!

The icons smother me:  linkedin, facebook, twitter, hootsuite, pintrest all beg sign up here, log in there, post daily for best results, but do so between the hours of 1 and 1:30, 2:22 and 3:13 and only when the moon is 3/4 full-- drowning in a sea of social media, no life preserver.  Nobody to tell what kind of information  I should and shouldn't share.  Privacy settings?  Is privacy even possible on the Internet? How do I use it to promote myself and my work?  My brain has been totaled on the information highway.  Trapped in the wreckage, where are the jaws of life?
I wake up in a cold sweat, shivering in the remnants of the nightmare. Whew! Thank goodness it was just a dream.  It had seemed so real. 
My phone lets out a single bing and the screen brightens the room.  I look to see what has awakened my sleeping smart phone.
you have notifications pending on facebook.
Oh no!  It's real!
If I touch the phone will I lose my soul?
Oh wait, I forgot.  It's the first Saturday of the Month.  The Bayou Writer's Group meeting.  Live contact, icon free, no passwords to remember. I love the first Saturday because I get to talk to real writers who drink as much coffee as I do. I learn as much by how they say things as what they say.
Sure we talk about using social media for a few hours over dinner.  But it's not so scary when I have live people to talk to about it. I guess we were flapping our jaws of life.