And Let That Be a Lesson to Myself!

by Joyce DiPastena

So on Monday, I didn't want to write. I mean, I really didn't want to write! But I had just finished being interviewed by Cindy R Williams for The Writer's Mirror where she'd asked me (basically) how I got past writers block, and I replied that the only way to get past it was to "write anyway". With my own words ringing in my ears, I said to myself on Monday, "If you don't sit down and write tonight, you'll be a hypocrite, Joyce! Telling other writers to 'write anyway' and then you don't do it yourself?" So I set my little timer, plunked myself down on the couch for an hour with my laptop, and whined my way through a writing session. And yes, at the end of that hour, I hated every word I had written.

So tonight, with only slightly less reluctance, I set my timer and plunked myself down on the couch again. (I'd known in advance I wouldn't have any writing time on Tuesday.) This time, the words not only came easier, but you know what? That stuff I wrote on Monday wasn't nearly as bad as it looked on Monday night! I mean, I'm not saying it was spot-on perfect, by any means. But it wasn't horrible, and I'll probably end up keeping almost all of it in one form or another. Time wasted Monday night? Definitely not! It might have been painful (it certainly felt so at the time) and my perspective wasn't what I would have liked (some of those words I hated actually made me laugh when I read them back...and I mean laugh in a good way). But was it worth it to "write anyway" when I didn't want to? Looking back on it from where I sit tonight, I'd have to answer with a resounding "Yes!"

(cross-posted from my JDP NEWS blog, Oct 7, 2009)