Thursday, June 7, 2012

MAJOR OOOPS.... INSECURE ABOUT FORGETTING INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Well, as usual my brain must have fried from the Florida sun. Since Monday there has been several glitches in my perfect design project and I completely SPACED the first Wednesday for Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Alex, again, I hope you can forgive me. Better late than never I always say. This week's mayhem and torrential rains have dampened much of my creativity, which is the focus of this post. 

So many times life gets in the way of our passion for writing. I know I have experienced it for months. I don't spend nearly enough time on my writing, editing, querying, etc.

SO what does one do? Just throw up your hands and snap your laptop shut? NO! NEVER! You mustn't. Even after my insane week, I got home and realized I hadn't posted for IWSG... Did I give up? NO ... I am writing this at 10:47 PM Eastern time, almost 48 hours late. Embarrassed and tired, I am still pumping out these words to share with you.

WE ALL need to keep going. At the darkest and most stressed moments of our lives we need to persevere. Writing is our life, our passion, we need it like air. Would you stop breathing, if life beat you down? I think not! So why let life's setbacks kill your passion? Keep going. Even if your eyes are closing, press on, finish that last paragraph, fine tune that next edit. You CAN do it. 

I have been missing home so much lately. I have been living out of town for almost five months. I am fatigued and so out of my normal routine, BUT... I am a writer. I still walk the beach every morning and appreciate the wonders of the sea: a bird in flight, a sand crab skittering into its hole, the proud look on a fisherman's face as he baits his hook, a child's laugh as she jumps the waves for the first time.  

These moments etch into my writer's memory to draw from in the future. No matter what, no matter how tired, we never lose our ability to observe and retain. That is our most precious commodity.

That my friends is a true writer.

I hope you all have an inspiring day tomorrow. Take a moment to appreciate the subtle beauty of your surroundings and please share them with us....



14 comments:

Summer Ross said...

Even if it was late- terrific post. Today was a beautiful sunny day and I may not have gotten out much, I did revise a short story and I keep moving forward.

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you for sharing this, Michael! Your posts are always so motivational. I hope you know how much I appreciate them. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Late is never a problem, Michael!
Even if you're not writing a lot right now, you are experiencing a lot. New things, new people, new places. (Probably not a lot of beach walking in Chicago.) So soak up the experiences. You can use them in a story later.

Unknown said...

Hello little Bro :) Nice post, been missing you dreadfully! Cheer up and better late than never. I have been late on occasion too.(ha ha ha, not that kind)Those dreadful seagulls are pooping all over my nicely fresh painted white terrace railings! Wretched creatures, they are not cute at all! Guess what I just bought...I recorder! Can't wait to place some of my inspiration in that thing because sometimes, like you, the writing part has to wait. We can always talk to ourselves though, right?

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Great post, Michael! I don't know how you are managing, living away from home for that long! And if I wasn't able to write in all that time, I really would feel as if I'd stopped breathing.

And thanks for the reminder to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the day. This is my first day of summer vacation -- (I'm a teacher.) -- and I'd planned to hole up in the basement and write all day.

Maybe I ought to get out and enjoy the sunshine instead, huh?

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Great post, Michael. It's so true that we need to keep forging ahead, never giving up. I'm a firm believer that part of being a writer is living. We must experience life (and have others share their experiences with us) in order write anything worth reading. Each experience molds us into something newer and gives us more of ourselves to share through our work. Don't worry about life getting in the way. ;D

Johanna Garth said...

Appreciation of subtle beauty! That's going to be my goal for the day. Thanks Michael!!

Golden Eagle said...

Your IWSG posts are always so full of writing inspiration. Close observation is definitely a must for a writer.

Nicki Elson said...

Well you certainly got your writerly muscles flexing in writing this post - so beautiful and encouraging.

Hehe, looks like I picked a good month to be behind in my IWSG reading. ;)

Good luck with your project - hope those glitches get worked out very soon.

Linda Gray said...

What a great post, Michael, and exactly what I needed to hear today. I have had construction going on in my house for three weeks (you'll appreciate this--a bathroom remodel, just a little room, but oh, my, you KNOW how this goes). Somehow this has thrown me totally off my writing game. Thank you so much for saying these inspirational things. It gave me energy just reading the post. :)) Best of luck to you getting your writing routine and mojo back where you want them, too. You will do it.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I found this post sweetly encouraging and inspiring. Love the image of walking on the beach taking in the details of one's surroundings, and enjoying the moment. Now there's a writer's life!

Arlee Bird said...

Late posts help us who are behind on checking the posts and that's me--always anymore it seems. And I agree we've got to just keep going. Now if only I could keep up with everything I want to do.


Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out

dolorah said...

Hang in there Michael; you're doing fine, and will be home soon I'm sure. I'm glad you're taking a few moments to appreciate the beauty you are surrounded by. I'm sure that lifts your spirits.

..........dhole

Danette said...

Very nice post, Michael, and so true. Life gets in the way so often- sometimes it's sheer busyness, sometimes it's the emotional pit we fall into. Whatever it is, we have to come back what is in our heart-- the need to keep plugging away at our stories!