Tuesday, November 7, 2017

I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.

~ W. Somerset Maugham

For me it’s usually between four and five in the morning. Sometimes I come to the page my mind awhirl with thoughts and words and the strongest desire to wrestle them into something with meaning. Sometimes—often—I come with nothing, but still, I come.

Sometimes I start in one direction and meander hither and yon, ending up with something bearing little resemblance to what I thought I was creating when I started out.

Sometimes my writing takes me to a deep place and I move the whole thing over to my private journal to flesh it out. On those days my entries here are apt to be short and surface..

Some days I solidify truth for myself. Some days I gain insight. Some days I have fun. Some days I honour simple and ordinary moments in life that would otherwise pass by unnoticed.

Some days I write deep and edit lightly. Some days I’m empty and struggle to tap out a few coherent sentences. Some days I play with words and punctuation and tweak phrases and get lost in the process. Those are sweet days.

Still, every day I write. I start somewhere.

This morning my eyes are drawn to the wall opposite the end of our bed where Gerry placed the bathroom mirror yesterday. He’s painting the master bathroom and things are a bit of a mess in here just now. As I sip my coffee, I try to ignore the distraction of our reflections: the blue glow of our iPads lighting our faces reminiscent of childhood when we held flashlights under our chins in the dark. It’s not a kind way to begin the day.

I started out this morning writing about nothing—the mirror at the foot of our bed—and was reminded of Julia Cameron’s morning pages. Then my mind went to how I’ve learned and grown through this daily discipline of writing and words flowed.

So maybe this post today is discombobulated (I blame it on the time change); or maybe there’s something here that will resonate for someone, or for me in the future when I mine for nuggets I might use in other writing projects.

The discipline of writing every morning has changed me. Maybe it can change you too—no, not maybe, it will change you should you decide to begin. I promise.

We have this idea that we need to be in the mood to write. We don’t.

~ Julia Cameron