Tag Archives: not writing

In My Defense, It Was a LONG Run!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had thought to do a Saturday Running Commentary. Actually, I had been going to do a Friday Running Commentary, but after my run and before I got to the blog, my dearest husband, Steven, came home and suggested we go to PK’s Pub for dinner. We’ll blame yesterday’s silliness on that.

This morning I decided not to run, because I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I actually did not plan on starting any of it before nine, when I would drop Steven off at work, but I thought I could have coffee with him and plan my course of action. Full disclosure: I did not exactly do that, but I did drink some Gator Ade and cure my headache (YES, I had another Saturday headache! It’s almost enough to make a girl prefer Mondays!) (but not quite).

One thing I had been going to do was Coffee and Conversation with a Cop, which I thought was the last Saturday of the month. However, when I drove by the church that hosts the program, the sign was not out front. Rats. Well, I thought, this will give me time to run. It wouldn’t have to be a long run. Maybe even a run with no hills. But definitely a shorter run, I reasoned, mentally calculating how much I had to get done.

As you may have guessed, it was not a short run. It was an hour and a half. Then a ten-minute cool-down walk. Then stretching, then a shower… and I definitely had to eat something. I probably should have drunk some more Gator Ade, but one doesn’t have time for everything. I did drink a big glass of milk. Lots of protein in milk.

Obviously I had no time to get to the computer and type. It is really too bad, because both runs were significant. I felt pretty bad ass both days, and I would like to write a post detailing my triumphs. By now, however, I have meandered all over the keyboard writing nonsense. Not even very amusing nonsense at that.

Sorry, kids, but I guess we’ll have to call it Wrist to Forehead Saturday or Wuss-out Saturday or Lame Again Saturday… can’t think of anything alliterative, can I? I’ve got it: a Sad Saturday Post. To clarify, I don’t particularly FEEL sad, but I feel that this is a sad post. I’ll see what I can come up with for tomorrow.

By the Way, I Didn’t Run Either

Posted on June 20, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is Writer’s Blank. I cannot think of a thing to say beyond lamenting the fact that I cannot think of a thing to say.

Do I really intend to post ANOTHER entry about Not Writing? Oh, you knew I was going to get around to it sooner or later. My actual plan today is to write this right now so at least I am writing something, then put it in my Save Draft section for use in an emergency. Of course, I have tried this plan before only to publish it right away, because I did not have anything else.

I wrote the above last September, never finished it, never put it in Save Drafts. I wish to heaven I had, because I’ve got a busy weekend ahead and no blog posts in sight.

At least, I wrote a post earlier this week and I had another Mohawk Valley adventure last night. Additionally, I plan to go running after work, which is usually good for a few hundred words. Moreover, it is Lame Post Friday. There is no need whatsoever to stress about what to write for my blog post. By my own self-imposed rules, I am off the proverbial hook (remember that: if you ever want to use a cliche, just insert the word “proverbial” and you’re being self-aware and self-deprecating. Maybe even post-ironic, my favorite).

Full disclosure: I’m not even having Writer’s Blank today. I wrote another scene in my novel which actually — dare I hope? — advanced the plot. But you know how it is, you get to the end of a scene and you’re done, unless you can think of another scene, which I could not.

Further disclosure: My weekend got a little less stressed after I wrote the fourth paragraph when Saturday overtime got cancelled. I would even have time to think of a real, non-lame Friday post, if I felt so inclined.

Obviously I do not. Now I’m only sitting here trying to think of a good Lame headline. So far nothing is coming.

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Now Is YOUR Wrist On Your Forehead?

Posted on June 8, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am NOT having Wrist to Forehead Sunday, as I threatened to in the final paragraph of yesterday’s post. My wrist is nowhere NEAR my forehead (something I’ve noticed about myself: I like to intersperse my writings with all caps for emphasis). I am in a relatively cheerful mood, considering, among other problems, that I have no idea of what to write a blog post about.

Then again, how many posts are like this? Is it getting old yet? Who cares if it is? I’m old too! So there!

OK, I’m being silly, because I like to be silly. I had a good, long run this morning. Over an hour. I was actually psyched to write a Running Commentary about it. Then I sat down at the keyboard (still this morning) and couldn’t do it. Why not? I don’t know. It happens sometimes. Sometimes you can say to yourself, “Oh, just write that post,” and do it. Sometimes not so much.

I had a marvelous time last night, hearing a band at a local spot. I had a fun time this afternoon, attending an event at an area historical attraction. I intend to write blog posts about both subjects. But I want to sit at my notebook and ponder, write, edit and write some more. You know, make a good job of it.

That, I suppose, is dangerous. Now people may be Expecting something of me. Perhaps they already do. Well, I can’t help it if they are doomed to disappointment. I can only write what I can write. Let’s see what I can write tomorrow. I do hope somebody will tune in.

As If I Had Actually Written Something

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, just type anything.

That is what I finally said to myself after staring at the blank space under “Add New Post” on the wordpress page. It is Monday, so I know I can do a Middle-age Musing Monday or a Monday Mental Meanderings (still can’t decide between those two). However, whatever I do, I must actually type words into the computer.

It’s a funny thing about words and me. Sometimes they just fall out of my fingers, via pen or keyboard. Today at work (BEFORE work and while ON BREAK, in case you were concerned), I wrote almost two pages on my novel (YES, the novel I was supposed to finish in May, don’t judge). Got to the end of the scene, yes!

Couldn’t start another scene. I was just blank. And the blankness continues. All I can write about, and I realize this seems to happen to me frequently, is the fact that I can’t write. AAAUUUGH!!!

I could blame the weather: it became cold and rainy today. It brought on flashbacks to 2013. In 2013, I had signed up for a St. Baldrick’s Day fundraiser. I asked for donations to help cure children’s cancer, then I got my head shaved. That happened June 2. It was swelteringly hot all May. I cursed my hair, which I had not cut for almost two years. I got it shaved. Then the weather turned cold. It was a rainy, miserable June. Then Herkimer flooded on June 30.

You know, I could have expanded that last paragraph into a full blog post, and it would have looked as if I had actually written something. Silly me.

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Just a Note

Posted on May 24, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

This blog, you may have noticed, has hit a dry spell. I can blame it on trying to train for the Boilermaker 15K or on Finish That Novel May or, today for example, on the headaches with which I am occasionally plagued. But it may just be me. Operator error, as it were.

I have completed four years of writing this silly blog, and I have not missed a day (except for once when the electricity went out and I posted late) (and occasionally when I have typed in my posts early and set WordPress to publish them at the proper time, although I don’t think that counts as missing a day). Every writer hits a dry spell. Oh well, I suppose some do not, or else they lie about it. And I’m sure many non-writers feel that dry spells are just laziness or self-dramatization.

Where was I going with this? Ah yes, my dry spell. I’ve been eking things out with Pedestrian Posts, Running Commentary, and Posts About How I Can’t Write a Post Today. Many bloggers simply take a little time off. I’m afraid if I do that I will never start again. No loss to the blogosphere, you say? You could be right, although it is unkind to point that out. It would be a loss to me.

I like posting something every day, even if it is just a note to my readers telling them I do not have much to say. I will say thank you for reading. Writing a blog has made me a better writer and a more consistent writer. And it is very fun. I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow, when I will try NOT to have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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I Haven’t Even Mentioned What I’m Wearing

Posted on May 17, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Goodness, do I ever wait till this late on a Saturday to make my blog post? I suppose sometimes I do, but those are the days I am at this point gearing up for an evening of relaxing at my house with my husband and dog. It is my favorite way to spend a Saturday or almost any evening. However, this evening, adventure beckons.

A month or two ago, we went to dinner with friends, then a show atIlion Little Theatre, then for drinks afterward (I may have written a blog post about it) (I just checked: two, in fact). It was such a delightful evening that when the final show of the season came around, one of the people involved (believe it or not, it wasn’t me) suggested we do it again. Naturally Steven and I jumped on board.

Knowing this was happening, why did I not make my blog post earlier? That is a good question. Well, I was kind of busy. I went to the laundromat and worked on my novel. By “worked on my novel,” I mean I wrote my sister the novelist a letter lamenting my plot problems (which passed the time nicely at the laundromat), then sat at home, staring at pages of novel and notes, thinking, “What the hell am I going to do with this?”

I finally began to write one of those back cover blurbs, to try to get an overview of the thing. I think it was helpful. Tomorrow I will look at it again and try, try, try to figure out what to do next. Maybe I’ll call the novelist sister and get her advice. Or maybe that will be another stalling tactic.

In any case, I must leave soon for tonight’s adventure. I had meant to write a really fast, three sentence post, then try to do an unprecedented second post later tonight. However, I think this one can count. See you on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Blog then Bed

Posted on May 12, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is it Mental Meanderings Monday or Middle-aged Musings Monday? Discuss amongst yourselves.

I bet that wasn’t a very long discussion. Probably a couple, “I don’t care what you call it,” a few, “Oh, no, not another silly post,” or even, “Oh, goody, another silly post.” Perhaps somebody brought up my love of alliteration. In admiration or annoyance? (Did you notice what I did just then?)

It seems I am too tired to write a decent blog post. The reason I am so tired is that I have been working on my articles for Mohawk Valley Living, my favorite magazine. I daresay I flatter myself, but I think they are pretty good. If only I could get them finished, polished and submitted, my life would be perfect. I know what some of you are thinking: why didn’t I just publish one of the articles for my blog post? I have done that on occasion, but I kind of feel like it’s cheating (hey, that’s something else you can discuss amongst yourselves).

Another factor in tonight’s trouble in coming up with a blog post is that I really need to get to bed early. My husband has an early shift at work, for which he prefers to rise at 3:30 a.m. I go to work at my normal time of seven, making an early morning run a good idea. Hey, that means I could write tomorrow’s blog post about the run. Score!

In the meantime, we all know Monday can be a painful day for us Monday through Friday wage slaves, as is the day after a day or days off for those who work different hours. As I said yesterday, all I can do is stay hydrated and try again tomorrow. Happy Monday, everyone.

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Stay Hydrated and Keep Writing

Posted on May 11, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did anybody notice that it is now double digits May? That’s right, one third of the way through Finish That Novel May. If I ever had a reason to have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, this is it!

I know, I know, get my wrist off my forehead and WRITE. I believe I’ve written numerous times about how it is not that simple. And if anybody wants to stand there and say, “Yes, it is that simple,” oh, just go stand somewhere else and say it.

Sorry, kids, I’m not feeling very well today. I think I spent too much time out in the sun yesterday. It was pretty cloudy for the most part, so I feel a little ill-used over that. However, I had a marvelous time (I expect to write a blog post about it when I’m feeling a little better), so if this is the price I pay, so be it.

Unfortunately, my brain is even less up to par than usual. It truly is: I have been trying to write various things on and off all day. It has not gone well. The only thing I seem to be good for is to lie on the couch and read a Regency Romance (in my defense, it is by Georgette Heyer, who sets the standard for all such novels).

The best I can do, I’m afraid, is hydrate and try again tomorrow. I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Another Doggy Sick Day, Please?

Posted on April 27, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Full disclosure: I don’t really need another doggy sick day. My dog is on the mend. She is not her happy, jumpy self yet, but she drank water, ate food and took her medicine. Phew! Thank you Mohawk Valley Veterinary Services. But, alas, I do not seem to be able to write a really good blog post today.

It happened again. There I was, in the midst of writing a blog post and I started not to like it. I was even editing it, rearranging sentences, adding, subtracting. I always feel like a real writer when I do that.

Oh dear, I can hear the critics now, “You can’t write and edit at the same time! Write first! Get it down! THEN you can look at it and edit!” This is one of those pieces of writing advice given so often that everybody just accepts as true for every writer. Is it true for me? Could be, because I just brought that post to a grinding halt.

The fact is. it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday for me, as it often is. I am in a funk, and I have been in a funk. However, I do not despair. After all, I have my new plan of Finish That Novel May (yes, yes, it wasn’t my idea originally, but it is my plan now). I still have four more days to gear up for that. Four days is certainly enough time to find a way out of my funk.

In the meantime, I tell my critics that I will edit when and where I feel like it. I will pet my dog and take her for a walk as soon as she feels like it. I will write what I can when I can. And hope that I still have readers. Happy Sunday, everybody.

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At Least I’m Writing SOMETHING

Posted on April 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another Wuss-out Wednesday. I was busily writing while at work today (before my shift and on breaks, as usual), but not on a blog post. I started a new novel. Oh, it is so fun to start a new novel! New ideas just appear in my head and I write them down. I feel brilliant.

I’m writing this novel a little differently from how I’ve attempted previous novels. I started writing a list of potential names, then I just dove right in and started writing. No notes. No outline. All I have, other than the pages of novel, is a growing list of characters, so I don’t use any names that are too similar (so annoying to the reader, I know it drives me crazy).

Of course it is the wrong thing to do, to begin a new novel. I VOWED I would finish the last one I started. You see, I have many, many novels started and only one I ever finished. And that one’s not very good. My later novels are better, but they are not finished. It is mortifying to admit this, but it is true.

However, my latest unfinished novel (I mean the one before the one I just started) was at a STANDSTILL. I simply could not progress. I had to take a step back and I just couldn’t bear to not be writing. Sometimes I can only write what comes out of my pen.

In case anybody is wondering, I am still working on the play about bananas. I’m writing on that every night before bed. Yesterday I wrote a speech from the play within the play (I just can’t write anything that is not complicated, I suppose).

So that is my story about why I did not write a blog post today. Tomorrow I will try to find a little more time to write an actual post. But since tomorrow is Non-Sequitur Thursday, I make no promises.

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