There are days when the writing just zips along. The hours devoted to crafting little fictions breeze by.
Then there are the days when writing is a slog, or when life’s many interruptions cut into writing time.
I’m not talking about procrastination. I’m talking about the necessary to-do’s of life that crowd into your time and push aside the work that is your calling into the category of do-it-later.
For me, lately, the necessary to-do’s involve a lot of calls to insurance providers and medical center, and therefore a lot of time on hold. But there isn’t much writing you can do while on hold, because once the elevator music fades and the voice of a real person begins to ask you your name and date of birth, you’d better be alert and ready.
Once I’m off hold and the conversation with the customer service reps is over for the time being, am I in the right frame of mind to write or revise? Not on your life. It may take an hour or two, or even a day, before I can return to that mental state.
But while I’m on hold, I have thoughts — beyond the obvious, persistent ones bewailing the state of the medical-insurance complex. Sometimes, writerly thoughts creep in. One of those writerly thoughts popped up this morning:
When I can’t write, at least I can blog.
I’m thankful for this platform, this blog. Here, I can toss out ill-formed thoughts without worrying about having to polish them to a high sheen for submission to a literary journal, without worries of an editor’s rejection, without thinking about a narrative arc, compelling dialog, setting, plot, or any of the things we writers obsess over.
It’s just a blog. A digital scratch pad. But sometimes, that’s a beautiful thing for a writer. At least for this writer.
AI-generated cover image of an angst-ridden hipster, presumably a struggling writer.
Andy writes! 
Your digital scratch pad is a gift to your readers, so thank you for blogging, even when you can’t write. I also appreciate that paradoxical bit of self-appraisal : )
Thanks for the encouraging words!
I feel that. I’ve been blogging off and on since about 2008 or so. Having a space to write a little something is helpful, even if it’s not fiction which is my preference as a writer (nonfiction is what I read most, ironically).
There’s not a thing wrong with reading nonfiction. I go through phases of genre myself but usually try to read some nonfictional works now and then — especially historical works.
Exactly. I read a lot of history stuff. And honestly, knowledge of history helps me a lot in writing. I especially like reading up on old and ancient folklore.