There are certain things in life that trigger an onset of "writer's block" - for me, it's usually times of brain-drain, news of tragedy, politics and political campaigns, and down times filled with the blah's. This week, I've experienced a bit of all of that, except maybe the blah's, and I just want to keep writing and working on something meaningful so I don't stop altogether. Not that anyone would miss it :) - but it's very cathartic for me to be able to type and get my thoughts & feelings down onscreen.

What's on my mind lately? Reading and writing. I haven't been able to get into a book in a few months now. Nothing's holding my attention past chapter two. I read the Bible, but even there I tend to get lost in thought, not reading huge chunks of scripture but trying to let one passage or paragraph wash over me. The Bible is much more of a meditative tool for me right now, not so much a book for study. That's a minor concern, since I'm teaching Sunday mornings and really need to dig a little deeper at times. It's still full of life, still full of wonder, still full of more questions than answers for me. But I think it's all wrapped up together, not being able to read, not being drawn into some books and being drawn in too far in others. Weird.

So, I've got three or four books right now that are trying to work their way to the top of the pile. And I'm reading more Bible than anything else, trying to see beyond the words, digging a little for what God's really saying and not just what I want to hear or think I should be looking for.

On the writing front... well, I write. I wrote a novel in November - well, I started a novel, and it died in three days. I got somewhere around 8,000 words, and it croaked. That's rough work, and I think I discovered something - I can write for me, and I might be able to write something that'll mean something to others, but if it's not "for me" in the end, it'll stink. I didn't start the novel-in-a-month "for me", but "for others". I don't know if that's a selfish tendency or not - just a thing. Even here, I write this post more for me than for anyone on the list. Remember, trying to stem the tide of writer's block - just keep typing.

Thanks for reading, even if it's not "for you"... Anyone else reading anything writing? Writing anything worth reading?
- posted by Rick @ 10:14