Nothing to Say

“Being in the mood to write, like being in the mood to make love, is a luxury that isn't necessary in a long-term relationship. Just as the first caress can lead to a change of heart, the first sentence, however tentative and awkward, can lead to a desire to go just a little further.”

Julie Cameron

Sometimes it feels like I have nothing to say, or nothing worth publishing anyway.  So I’m going to try again, because my first attempt was unbearable.   What do I do when I’m too tired to write?  I write anyway.  I write and I write and I write.  Eventually something will come to me.  It always does.  If it doesn’t, then I wait patiently until she comes, (“she” is my Muse).

There are really only a few options here.  I could take a break.  I’ve done that.  I had a bowl of popcorn and looked at a couple of comic books.  That was nice.  I realize that I’ve been pretty active most of the day and I’m tired.  That leads me to my next option.

I could stop and try again in the morning.  I’m pretty tired and there’s no shame in getting some rest.  I was falling asleep a few minutes ago.  Why don’t I just go to bed?

The third option is the one with the most benefits.  I could Get Started and Keep Going.  I could keep writing until I fall asleep or have nothing else to say.  This is the option I’m choosing.   Doing this creates the following benefits:

·      I get one more blog written.  This gets me closer to my goal of 1,000 blogs.  That goal reminds me how important it is to have a goal.  Goals have changed my life.  More accurately, taking action towards those goals has changed my life.

·      I get more writing time.  If I need 10,000 hours as Malcolm Gladwell says in Outliers or if I need three to six hours a day as many writers say, then writing one more blog helps.

So I’m writing one more blog.  It may not be my best blog; it may not even be a good one, but it doesn’t matter.  I’m still writing.  That’s all a writer has to do – write.  I don’t have to publish.  I just have to write.   So every word I write counts.  My Morning Writes count.  My blogs count.  Even the mess I wrote earlier tonight counts.  Every word I write counts.  I just have to keep writing.   I like this quote by Brian Clark:

“10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

Write.

Write more.

Write even more.

Write even more than that.

Write when you don’t want to.

Write when you do.

Write when you have something to say.

Write when you don’t.

Write every day.

Keep writing.”

Professional writers say to write three to six hours a day.  I think that is a glorious goal.  Every word counts.  Publishing doesn’t matter (yet).  It’s the writing that counts.  It’s the writing that feeds my soul and feeds itself.  The more I write, the stronger it gets and the stronger I get as a writer.  What a wonderful privilege to be able to do this.  No wonder I want to do it professionally.  My hope for tomorrow is to get in several hours just to read and write and spend every minute I can with my Muse.

One of the best parts of Purpose is the joy I get just being in it.  It is a self-sustaining enterprise, no matter what form it takes.  It gives strength and it increases in strength the more attention I give it.  It doesn’t get better than that…even when I have nothing to say.