#always write

My poem

California State Railroad Museum

How many times do you visit an area, and think, “I really want to go there”, but then you don’t go.  That was me and the Railroad Museum.  Yesterday the Tulare County Teaching American History Grant Institute scheduled the trip, and I finally got my wish. For a museum-aholic like me, it is really hard for a museum to reach the status of favorite, but this one may come very close.  How fortunate…

A lot of writing tips say that you should “force yourself to write, even when you think you can’t.”

I personally have always interpreted this to mean that I should write even when I don’t feel like it, but recently that I started thinking about the difference between “can’t” and “I don’t wanna.”

And I’ve come to realize that this difference is an important one.

When I can’t write, something is wrong. I could be mentally or emotionally off that day, I could have homework that is stressing me to the point that I can’t focus on the story, etc, etc.

In these sorts of situations, I am nearly incapable of writing. I always could, of course, but it would probably be bad writing. I would end up more frustrated than I was when I started, and that’s not something I want out of my writing. These are the days when I can’t write, so I don’t.

But then there are other days when I still don’t write, but nothing is wrong. I’m having a better day mentally/emotionally, I’m on top of homework, etc. These are days when I usually get sucked into the void of YouTube, or I play games on my phone for hours, or I watch TV. On these days, I never get around to writing because what I’m doing in that moment is easier than diving into plot and characters again.

And those are the days that I end up regretting the most. Because those videos are always going to be there, those games aren’t going anywhere. The writing that I could have gotten done? That stuff is less permanent.

I guess the bottom line here is this: Recognize the differences between the days that you can’t write and the days where you just don’t want to, and then act accordingly.

If you’re having a day where you can’t write? Take a break. It’s okay to have those days. You’re still a writer, you’re just not at your A-game today. That’s all right. You’ll get back to it.