Saturday, July 6, 2013

inscription

I think I think too much. See what I did there? I am grievously meta-metacognitive.

When I think about my blog and writing posts, I have high expectations and a million seemingly great ideas. I cannot stop thinking of things to write about throughout the days; sometimes I even compose paragraphs while driving or grocery shopping but then forget to jot down my best stuff and it's all gone by the time I get home and put away purchases, make tea, organize my laptop area, check Facebook, clean something in a different room, sort laundry, sit down, adjust my old telephone operator's chair, position hands above the keyboard.

I might also lack focus.

I often feel like I can't produce quality work if my space is not in magazine-photo-ready shape. Or at least Instagram-ready shape. So I get things "just right" (75+ minutes) then agonize over What To Write (75 seconds). Is it interesting? Am I getting the details precise? Is this relevant to anyone? Did I include everything that could possibly be related to the topic throughout the history of the world? And then I go finish the laundry.

I have had a great book with 100 ideas for blogging from a marvelous woman I met at BlogHer in 2008. In the five years I've owned this book, I have not written one post using her brilliant advice. This is a clear indication of something wrong with me that my counselor & I did not explore, but I am making amends starting now. My Big Plan is to use the time I have in the morning before my people wake up to write - I'm fairly certain I will be too groggy to worry about how pretty the dark little corner is, though I will brew a cup of tea - and if I don't immediately have a genius idea, I will choose a prompt from my book and compose something fine.

I think...I can.