Just Write

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”
― Louis L'Amour

What a concept really.  Just start.  How easy is it, really, to talk about writing?  Talking about writing isn't writing.  Talking about baseball is not playing baseball.  Talking is just that. . .talk.  It's taking an idea, a concept, and diminishing it's potential.   Talking about writing, without the actual writing, is like taking a shower and never turning on the faucet.  It's not  a shower until the water is turned on.  It's not writing until the words appear on the page. 

This quote made me go back to the idea of excuses.  The excuses, procrastinations, diversions we use not to write.  There's been a meme floating around Facebook here lately that really reflects back to this.  At first I was amused by it.  Even related to it and identified with some of the ideas.  Then I even started mentally adding my own rationale to it. 

 

I started even thinking I could teach my own variation of this class.  The problem is, it's still not writing.  It's not taking the ideas from my mind and translating them to a format that I can share with others.   Talking about writing does not further my writing potential.  Finding reasons not to write does not further my writing potential.  Down playing my writing does not further my writing potential.  

As human beings the worst thing we can do to ourselves, in any area of life, is compare ourselves to others.  There will always be someone better, just as there will always be someone not yet where we are.  Instead, we must learn to compare ourselves to ourselves.  Am I a better person now than I was last week, last year, ten years ago?  If the answer is no then I really need to look at why.  I don't need to look at what Joe Neighbor is doing in the same area because Joe isn't me.  Joe doesn't have my strengths and weaknesses.  If I'm not moving forward I need to figure out why.  Perhaps it's something I no longer have an aptitude or interest in and I need to let it go.  Perhaps it's simple lack of will, OK fine laziness, that can be overcome.  Perhaps I just never turned on the faucet.  

If I really look at myself based on where I am now versus then with writing there are a few hard truths that I have to acknowledge.  I have gotten lazy.  I am not the same writer I was 10 years ago.  Even 3 years ago.  I know that somewhere inside I have an aptitude to be a decent writer.  Perhaps not a novelist of the great American variety but that's not a goal I have.  When I was young, yes but that is not currently on my radar.  I am motivated to talk about the idea of writing.  Heck, was motivated enough four months ago to start a writing blog.  It was a great idea that had great merit to it.  However, I neglected to make the time to write.  I found other things to do, excuses, procrastinations.  I could write a serial of how HGTV is bad for my blogging career.  But then I'd need to stop watching Love It or List It long enough to actually write the blog.  

Just Write. Turn on the faucet so the water can run.  Make the time to put words on the screen.  Whether it be in the blog composition screen or the sticky note app.  Words beget words.  They don't have to be good words.  The words just need to count.