Getting Back To It

Not that anybody is following these blogs (at this point), but there has been a five day break from the last submission. This is not a big lag, but when one is ‘supposed to write one daily,’ according to some of the wisdom touted at the residency (I don’t subscribe to “daily,” but close), five days can be considered a substantial enough break.

Which brings me to todays thoughts:

Five out of Seven days is enough to be considered “daily”

Never worry about where you were – only where you’re at.

Writers (artists) seem to have a quirky way of looking at the world – and I thought it was only me! Of course, just to qualify, I believe there are artists everywhere, whether they be carpenters, electricians, CEO’s, painters, sculptors, or authors. It’s the knack for getting things done in a way that is fresh, organic, and original that separates the artist from the performer.

Often times, it is easy to get caught up in the public trap of seeing someone make an outlandish statement such as: I write 2K a day. That writer is either lying or telling the truth. Odds are, they’re lying. If they’re not they’re extremely busy and my hat’s off to them. If they are then they should be ashamed of themselves: God cries when you lie.

Ah, but what about the Five out of Seven rule? Can you take your hat off to yourself if you’re following that one? Most certainly. If anybody asks me how my writing is going and I’m getting 5/7 then I’m writing everyday. This is what I call the acceptable fudge factor.

There are other considerations. Life has a way of getting in the way of creating art. Mother’s really want you to stop by for a visit, the wife says, let’s take the holiday off, a son may step into the office to shoot the breeze (or other things), and so forth. What’s a caring individual to do? Accept their needs to see you as a way of understanding that you need to see them, and move on.

Naturally, especially if this is to be a profession, it is important to insist on your time and space – more on that later – but it is equally important to allow others to impinge upon you. This is good humanity. Herman Melville was more or less forced to immure himself to finish Moby Dick. He found himself inclined to help his neighbor, family, and friends. Poet Marvin Bell has likewise stated that he does the majority of his work at night (hence the title of one collection, Nightworks) for very similar reasons: chores, spending time with Dorothy, etc.

This may sound too much like what Jesus once said: Do not worry about the day, for the day has enough worries of its own. Okay, that’s a paraphrase, but close. But the principle applies. There is simply too much work that needs to get done to be freaking out over missing five days of blogging or writing or creating or schooling, etc. to freak. Freaking is debilitating.

Bottom Line: I’m picking up where I left off.