Writing on Not Writing

Wow that Natalie Goldberg! My writing buddy Ann recommended Writing Down the Bones (Freeing the Writer Within) and after 28 pages I've realized the Natalie knows me intimately! She says don't care what you write, just write! And stop using all those excuses for not writing because writing is the easiest thing to do in the world. No special technology is necessary, just a pen & paper. And don't say you can't think of anything to write about, just write about anything!

I read this as I was on the exercise bike at the gym, getting super sweaty and smelly (so I know it was a good workout) and maybe that's why I feel motivated at this moment. But as I was pedalling I resolved to write about all the stuff that keeps me from writing, as soon as I walked in the door. But on the way home I decided that first I would submit a poem to the newspaper that would be appropriate for President's Day weekend, one I wrote a while ago about Lincoln that I've been meaning to submit. I raced in the house, checked messages (diversion #1 but there were none so that didn't slow me down too much), came into my office & checked email (diversion #2....ALMOST sidetracked me. There were 2 emails from Volpe, the forensics coach, reminding me that I have to send a global email to the team assigning food & work responsiblities (and we're talking 50 plus families here) for the tournament next week. Fortunately yesterday when I was procrastinating about writing I created the work schedule (does that count as writing??) so that part is done but I ALMOST avoided writing THIS so I could address THAT. I conquered diversion #2!)

Next I decided to submit the poem, looked in my writing file for submission guidelines from last year, but then (diversion #3) checked the paper's website and discovered that the person to whom one submits poetry is CHANGED so HA! Thank goodness for diversion #3. I was about to send the poem by email but the guidelines didn't say whether to put it in the body of the email or in an attachment, so I just sent an email asking how to submit the blasted thing. Hey that's something. If they don't respond by tomorrow I'll send it by snail mail. Whew! Then I opened this blog and even though it's been a while since I posted anything here it hasn't been THAT long....

So 3 diversions. That is not freakin bad. I can look around my little office here and find so many more! Like there's some client paperwork sitting on my floor that needs my attention (the files are covered with dust, that's how I know).

Hey the newspaper just replied to my email about the poem!! But to show my faithful readers how dedicated I am, I refuse to be diverted to submit the poem until I finish this post (even though I stopped for a second to read the incoming email...oops!! A momentary weakness!)

What other diversions are there? This is embarrassing. Spider Solitaire. See, I even capitalized it which tells you how inappropriately often it inhibits my productivity. I play that stupid game way more than I will ever admit to, so here's a new year's resolution for me: Any time I feel drawn to a computer game, I shall read a chapter of Natalie Goldberg. Or if I've finished that, I'll read a short story or poem from Ploughshares or the Alaska Quarterly, both of which are gathering dust in my bedroom.

Vacations. There's a huge diversion. I keep surfing TripAdvisor.com and hotel websites and snow reports so I can plan a ski weekend and also spring break.

Ebay. Huge diversion. I keep searching for stuff I don't need, or stuff I plan to sell to see if it will be worth the time to actually post something for sale. And when I get to ebay I obsess about the one negative feedback I got (which was totally unjustified by the way) that has negatively impacted my approval rating. Grrrrrrrr!

Other diversions. Justified? You tell me. Laundry for 4 boys plus husband. It never ends. Grocery shopping for 4 boys plus husband. Teenagers scarf everything in sight. Dog walking. She barks at night if she's cooped up all day. Look for a pinball machine. It's high on the priority list because I said I'd get one for the husband for his birthday in SEPTEMBER (that's 2005, not 2006) and have only made minimal progress. Basement. Trying to find someone to finish the basement! Phone calls, return phone calls, meet with contractor. Dryer broken, find repair person. Carafe for cappucino maker broken, look online for replacement. Plastic part on cuisinart broken, look online for replacement. Lost dog collar for electric fence, look online for replacement (discontinued model OF COURSE!! But I was diligent with that particular diversion and located one for $125...cost more than the stupid dog!) Drivers' ed classes for offspring #1, who gets his license in 2 weeks and needs 30 hours of classroom instruction AND 6 hours of driving instruction in order to get reduction on insurance premium as well as driving knowledge I have not succeeded in imparting to him these past 6 months that he's been behind the wheel. Finding these classes & successfully registering took upwards of 2 hours. That counts as a diversion in my book. And the broken cello, had to get that fixed. And this was all in 3 days so no wonder I haven't written jack****.

And of course there is one giant diversion that is coming upon me quickly, which is bar mitzvah #3. Have to book place & DJ at a minimum. As a famous literary heroine was known to say, "I'll think about that tomorrow!"

On top of all this I think I have ADD so I tend to jump from one project to the next, leaving stuff half-done, undone, broken, looked at but not addressed.......

Ummm....what was I just talking about? No matter. I wrote this, it counts even if it has no relevance to anyone but moi. Now I'm going to shower (remember awesome workout... I did not submit to tempting shower diversion before sitting down to write) and go see Memoirs of a Geisha with writing buddies.

Happy New Year!