ALL the time, I hear people say, “If I only had time, I’d write [poetry, my novel, a play, my memoirs],” and I agree that time is important. Yet so many writers manage to get that done while taking care of families, holding down demanding jobs, and even maintaining romances and social lives. I usually think it’s not TIME that’s lacking, it’s energy.
I don’t mean only the energy that makes us bound from bed and get cracking on our schedules. I mean the mental and emotional energy it takes to create. It’s a different kind of energy and sometimes discipline and time and inspiration are not enough to put us into a creative frame of mind.
And that is FINE. Sometimes our energy is needed elsewhere. It’s up to YOU to determine if your reasons are legitimate or simply another excuse.
You will never get that poem, novel, short story, play, memoir read or published if you don’t write it. But again, writing takes a lot of energy.
It was a little frustrating for me over the past few days to have so many other things to deal with that I couldn’t get into the zone I need to be in to write. I mean, if you are compelled to write, even when the power is out and the sun is gone and the water is frozen in the pipes, you will light a candle and grab paper and pencil and write. IF YOUR ENERGY FOR IT IS THERE.
We have a few more expected bad days coming to us here, and the water issue is far from resolved, though for now at least, we have power. And I’m absolutely fine with the times that Tom and I have just focused on managing to keep us and our animals warm, our toilets flushable, and our food source safe. We have sat in the dark in front of a gas fire that barely kept the chill away, devised solutions, and remained companionable throughout.
When there was daylight, I worked on this coloring page though I was shivering. When the power would come on for a while at some random time, I used the light to work on her some more. I felt as if her beauty and spirit kept me company and made me know that if I couldn’t write, at least I could embellish someone else’s beautiful drawing.
This is why I call it coloring therapy. It doesn’t rob energy; it helps rebuild it.
This is the book I took it from.
These are a couple of the dolls I picked up at the recent estate sale. I will definitely use their fashion as inspiration when I color more drawings from this book.
I have a count of my boxed dolls now, and a count of my Monster High dolls. I have all the others to count, so I’m waiting to provide a grand total on here. The prospect remains scary.
Another from the 3000 Questions About Me book: 585. What is your favorite short story?
