i told myself i'd blog something every day from here on out and i failed after day two.
the idea was that blogging would hold me accountable, even though i could easily cheat and change the post date so that it looked like i had blogged daily, even if i wrote three posts in one day. i'm not in the business of cheating myself or the two (i'm being hopeful) people who look at this thing without a prompt from facebook.
i did write on the third day, but it was nothing worth posting. and i didn't write on the fourth day. now i'm blogging on the fifth day and this, too, is barely worth posting.
my dinner party project was a similar endeavor. since it's hard for me to complete narrative projects, i thought that writing a story in serial posts might encourage me. and my adoring (and adored) family read the two segments i posted. but then i just stopped working on it. maybe i'll pick it back up. i don't know.
the idea is that if you write every day, even if it's garbage, it's better than not writing. and you can get the garbage out of the way for the brilliance to spill forth. this advice has been given to me by many awesome people: my former shrink, my current writing teacher, my current beau, probably a few other people. i think oliver and i have spoken about it. he's pretty awesome.
i wanted to start a blog dedicated to writing and writing exercises, but i couldn't think of a good name, so i still haven't set it up. one of these days. having a space dedicated to non-personal writing seems like a good way to get myself away from only writing semi- or fully-autobiographical pieces. right?
a bit of a test to see who does, in fact, look at this thing without being directed via facebook: what creative endeavor do you enjoy? do you practice daily, even if you feel devoid of inspiration? let's get to making things, people! it just feels good! even if it's sooooo bad!
where do you find inspiration? if you do practice your craft daily, despite lack of muse, what gets you going? tell me! i'm watching you!!
5 comments:
I read this, and I don't know you or have a facebook account. It's actually kind of creepy how I found your blog several years ago. Not creepy in the sense you should be afraid, but creepy in a six degrees of separation sort of way, or that it's one of those weird synchronicities of life... kind of like what you used to write about.
Anyhow, I used to have a blog, too, and I would try to write daily as well. At some point, though, I switched over to writing in a series of notebooks, instead.
I originally did this as an exercise, in the physical sense. Growing up so heavily invested in technology, I found I had kind of lost the art of handwriting. Whenever I would have to take notes with an actual pen and paper, and once when I wrote a letter to a girlfriend at the time, I noticed my arm would literally cramp up.
So, I started putting pen to paper. I almost immediately noticed just how immensely my handwriting had suffered. My hand would become so painful at times, my penmanship would look like that of a kindergartner. I couldn't even write in cursive. Everything had to be in sloppy print. I would write very short, abbreviated entries, sometimes only a few sentences at a time, but I kept at it.
Several notebooks later (I like to call them volumes) and I am still at it. My penmanship has improved greatly. It's amazing to flip through the notebooks like you would a flipbook and see how much it has changed over time. I can now write for hours at a time, when I feel like it, but usually it's only for thirty minutes or so, a few times a day.
I don't really know what will ever come of all of this writing. I thought for a while I would start writing people letters, but that never really materialized. I don't have anything especially interesting to write about, so I don't see a manuscript in my future. Still, it's fun, I suppose, and my fingers are totally ripped, now. So, there's that.
i am inspired, always, by others.
someone elses song, or someone elses words. someone elses deeds or flaws.
it is rare when something springs out of me without a knudge from someone else, whether they know it or not. though i suppose that is life.
i remember a time when i would blog every day, or multiple times a day and it felt good and it felt right. i would spend my idle moments dreaming of new blog entries and coming up with ideas and questions to explore. now? now there's nothing. there's no posting, there's little thought and every post i attempt ends up crinkled on the floor next to the garbage.
when i make a marathon of it and read all of my past entries i am jealous of my old self. was i really that much more interesting then than i am now? how did it escape me? where the hell did it go?
thanks for commenting, people!!
anonymous: i'm intrigued by the six degrees of separation. is kevin bacon in there somewhere? i am also amused that you call your notebooks volumes. that's great.
paul: word. you do your share of inspiring, too. you know that, right?
K: always good to hear from you! start blogging again! i always enjoyed reading your blog! i was sad that the stunflower blog didn't go too far. working with the public provides almost an overload of things/characters to write about.
Cooking and writing compete against each other for me. I have been going through a heavy cooking phase. I love to think about what I am going to cook and eat next. I love making it. I love watching others eat the food I made.
I hope to bring writing back into focus but that requires a mind that is ready to put out. I ain't got that for the time being. Brain hasn't been in the mood to play for a while.
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