Writing: Deadlines, Inspiration and Advice

 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee    2012

"The dreamy images of a writer sitting, isolated  and lonely behind an ancient  typewriter with a blank piece of paper is a classic . "

  Convenient or not, the mind seems more blank than an unmarked sheet of paper upon occasion.  Timing is everything, is it not?  Obligations, deadlines lurk, putting pressure on the blank mind.  Do you wish you were still writing for fun?  Did you ever wish you were a car salesman instead?  How about a clown at the circus?  Quite possibly. Being a writer has it's moments, some of them can be distinctively unfunny and stressful, dictated by that stubborn, persistent clock ticking away. Want some advice--the best advice any writer can be offered ?  Say 'no'.  I jest.  I have to admit  we may be tempted at times. Are we cut out for this stuff? Writers are like most others,  we are human beings first.  We  do appreciate getting good advice upon occasion;  how to write different genres, how to make submissions. How to fix dead stories. How to write AP style.  How to please editors. How to succeed at writing, how to promote our work, and even how to write about writing. Books on writing are a dime a dozen.  It is often stated, tongue in cheek, 'when writers have nothing else to write about, they  write books on "How to write".  That may even be true;  advice abounds,  from other writers, mentors, and less than ethical word mills attempting to lure writers to submit work freely -- but what is the best advice any writer can be offered?  You may be surprised.  It is not magic or rocket science. It is merely: Get to it. Stop making excuses.  Get at it. Stop procrastinating! That sharp advice is merely an extension of the advice you received when you started writing. Write.  Sit down and write every day, even for a few minutes. Keep a small notebook handy and jot down notes wherever you are.  Get into the habit of  writing.  To BE a writer you have to write.  Writing encourages the mind to write more.  If you sit down and write, you ARE a writer, but  why?  Because you actually work to make your dream a reality. The dreamy images of a writer sitting, isolated  and lonely behind an ancient  typewriter with a blank piece of paper is a classic . So..what is so different today?  Has that  good, timeless  advice lost it's spice, it's heat, the raison d'etre?  After all, it's work. No. It's common sense and logical Perhaps another image plagues -- the image of the ultimate modern computer in stainless-steel  office lined with packed bookshelves. That may come  closer to the truth in 2012, but ignore it equally.  File the starving writer image--the  tiny hot garret, bread crusts and dried cheese  a la Dostoyevsky in the dust bin or on a shelf --no matter.  It is all irrelevant to you. Being a writer is timeless. Being a writer is inspiration. Where you write and the mechanisms you use for writing are also irrelevant.  You're a writer wherever you may be. The fact is, too, whether you use  a stubby 2H pencil and piece of paper, the latest tablet,  an antique typewriter, or an old desktop computer, if you don't sit down and write, wherever you are,--whether it be for a child's poem, the great American novel, a screenplay or a submission with deadline or not, obligation or inspiration and all- it won't matter.  Write wherever you are. Use whatever level of technology is available to you.  Start with the tabula rasa if necessary--the blank clay tablet. Well, okay, so does that apply now?  Yes.  Get to it. Stop procrastinating, get busy. Release yourself from that self-imposed, inactive choice.  It is a choice you make. By comparison, and free of  restrictions, the mind can be fertile. Want the next best piece of advice? You can do it,  so get to it. #

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  photo credit courtesy of 123 rtf