Writing, Blocked

Didn't I just write something on this? Oops.

Good writing is often about trying to investigate something you feel is missing and trying to put it back.

Abi Morgan

Well, this is embarrassing. All week I have been wracking my brain, trying to figure out why it is I just COULDN’T write anything down. I don’t often have trouble writing. I mean, I talk all the time. So why not just write what I was going to say?

The problem with that approach is what I verbalize tends to be… unfollowable. I’m surprised that’s a word, but there’s no red squiggle underneath, so I’ll keep it for now.

Though unfollowable may be too strong a word here, it’s how I feel listening back on dictations I have made. I prefer allowing some service to transcribe those for me for this reason. But even then it’s difficult to find a common thread until the end.

So sure, I can wrap things up nicely. But instead of a clean, neat wrap job for a gift of the written word, it turns out to be a mangled mess that just so happens to have enough scotch tape to keep someone from peeking inside.

Perhaps dictation has thrown me off a bit. Perhaps, while that’s how I think things through, it shouldn’t be relied upon for my writing. And, perhaps, I should take my own damn advice.

And so this is me doing that. I have freed myself from the box of sticking to a topic that may be interesting and instead just allowed my fingers to go. I am hopeful that this will be useful for some, but I am not counting on it. Not because there’s no chance, but because when I do, the writing stops.

It is also not something I have considered too deeply in the past. That’s not to say I don’t care what people think. I care a tremendous amount. But I cannot care as I am typing or using a pen. When I do I create that barrier my mind hasn’t been able to penetrate or move past.

And with that, I have written about 300 or so words. That’s not a ton, but it’s a far cry from what I’ve been able to do here recently.

So my next step will be to get outside, see some nature, interact with it a bit, and perhaps take advantage of the full moon tomorrow to catch some fish today. I do love fishing.

I will report back, success or failure. Either way, this will be a good test of my own ideas.

Regards,

Dad