Excuses Excuses...

I said in an earlier blog that I’d like to write two to three times a week, even if the blog was short. But I find myself making excuses to not write. Even when the excuses are good and real – it takes away from the discipline of practicing writing. It’s been over a week since my last entry. Grrr.

So – today I’m gonna write out my excuses in a blog. That way, at least I can say I’ve blogged – and maybe I can break the bad habit of not posting my thoughts.

First excuse… This is the excuse everyone can relate to – being busy. I have short periods of time here and there, but I find myself doing other things when the time is given to me. It’s been mostly distracting things like television or my iphone – which is so unproductive. I’ll think about writing, but I actually won’t write. It’s as if I would do anything but write if given the chance. I’ve probably had more chances to write than I’d like to admit. I have been busy, but not that busy…

Second excuse… I actually am writing, but it’s another project – not a blog. I’m spending a lot of time writing and editing this work. It’s been maddening! My brain is twisting and wrestling itself – every day I find new things to edit and change. I find myself daydreaming of how to word certain phrases all throughout the day. I’ve been writing since March and have only gotten near the end of the first chapter. I must have read and re-read the chapter about a thousand times. New ideas keep coming for future chapters, and the end keeps getting farther and farther away. It’s become intimidating when I think about the work as a whole because I’m so far away from the conclusion. I know everything that I want to write about is inside my head; I just have to search and find it, which can be tricky. I do believe that when I finish the project, it will be well worth it. But I feel like I’m only on mile two of a marathon. At this point, I can’t even imagine the end…

Third excuse… I’ve been writing comments on other blogs. This might sound like a lame excuse, but I actually spend too much time writing the response – and this burns me out of actually writing for myself later on. It takes a lot of energy for me to write. Once I get an idea down, I might be brain dead for the next couple hours. It’s annoying.

Fourth excuse… I’ve been pretty sick the last couple days. I haven’t done any writing at all, really. Just a little editing. I’m actually sick as I type this – really bad chest cold. Minor fever. I feel like I’m starting to come out of it though. I’m making myself write today, before I take Nyquil and my brain is done for the next 24 hours.

I could probably come up with more excuses, but this is good for now. This accomplished what I wanted – to break the cycle of not writing. Now onto editing my other project… and maybe writing a page or two… Maybe… No excuses.

Have a great day!

Jer