When There's Nothing to Write About...

 

As if there'd EVER be nothing to write about! I'm never at a loss for ideas (or words). There's always something to write about … always. Have you ever read the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott? Friends Ted and Karen on Sequester gave it to me in New Zealand and it's so good, I've kept it instead of passing it on. I've read and reread it. It's tagline is “Some instructions on writing and life.” Lamott quotes Flannery O'Connor who said “anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life.”

Lamott's younger brother has procrastinated writing a term paper on birds for his science class and he's grousing and verklempt about it as he sits the night before the paper's due date, wondering where to begin and how to tackle the writing task. His father merely states “Bird by bird, son, bird by bird.”. It's the same with writing a daily blog, a novel or dealing with any major challenge in life. It's the way to handle life's dragons … one at a time... dragon by dragon … bird by bird.

All I need to do is read a newspaper or a magazine, take a walk or a ride, think about our sailing life, edit photos, watch (or not watch) television or just veg out. I can come up with a hundred ideas that can turn into blog posts with some thought and nurturing. I keep a running list of possible blog topics and have maybe a dozen posts in different states of progress going at any one time. Of course, come to think of it, this also might reflect upon the fact that I'm easily distracted by shiny, bright objects and concentration isn't my long suit.

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