Tag Archives: writing

Can’t Write After That Run

Posted on August 17, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know, I should have had Saturday Running Commentary today. After all, I’ve been blathering on and on about the DARE 5K and it was run, wait for it, this morning. I was even thinking as I ran what a great post it was going to make. Well, it isn’t going to make one today.

I have a party to go to. Oh don’t start in with the, “What’s more important, a party or your writing?” What’s important right now is that I don’t have time to take a nap. I tried, oh I tried not to run too fast too soon. I tried not to push myself too hard and give myself an VCD attack. In fact, it wasn’t that bad of an attack. When I stopped running I was making some fairly horrible noises breathing, but nobody got too worried about it and I stopped fairly quickly. So there.

But I’m TIRED. I got up early, and I was tense about the race. I had butterflies in my stomach and in my chest. I was NERVOUS! What was that all about? I do this race for FUN. And it was fun. A lot of fun. But now I’m tired. I have a headache. And I have a lot to get done before I drive three hours or so to a party. Which I hope will also be fun.

I am progressing on my list of things to get done. However, I am leaving the most onerous chore for last. I have to figure out what to wear. You know, I have gained weight and it seems to be settling in my belly. When I was getting changed to go to a wine tasting last night (ooh, that would have made a good post for today), the first outfit I tried made me look like I had a baby bump. A baby bump! At my age! How dreadfully unbecoming.

So this post about Why I Can’t POSSIBLY Write a Post Today is getting progressively longer, because I am putting off that dreadful moment when I start trying on clothes, looking at myself in the mirror and crying. Good thing I’ve been re-hydrating ever since the run.

Hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Did Hemingway Have These Problems?

Posted on August 15, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I ended yesterday’s post fearing I was stuck again. I thought it would be temporary, but alas, the malady continues. I was unable to write a blog post or work on my novel at work. I worked on a letter to my sister, but it did not help me segue over to other writing. I thought, that’s OK. I’m going running after work. I’ll write about that.

I ran. While I ran, I thought of some good stuff to put in a blog post about it. Before the run I dithered about how far and how hard to run, also some good stuff to put in a blog post. It would no doubt be a good, long blog post.

I don’t feel up to sitting here and typing in a good, long blog post. I don’t feel like typing in a lot. I don’t feel like thinking of anything good. I’m a BAD BLOGGER.

In my defense, I did not do a Middle-aged Musings Monday, a Tired Tuesday or a Wuss-out Wednesday. In my detriment, I have been indulging in All DARE 5K All The Time, which some people might find tiresome. Additionally, my Wednesday post was a short little riff about not being able to write, arguably a lame post (although I got 10 Likes on it).

What I guess I’m saying is, this is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I am feeling quite non-sequential. And maybe a little unconsequential, but let’s leave my poor self-esteem out of this. All I want to do today is hit “Publish” for at least 200 words.

Hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday.

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One Must Write, After All

Posted on August 14, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here’s a writing problem I often have. I finish writing a scene. I accomplish what the scene set out to do (or not, I’m not perfect). I end on a dramatic note, a joke or a cliffhanger. I stop, satisfied. Then I have the damnedest time starting another scene.

I don’t necessarily have this problem with blog posts. Monday I wrote a post about registering for the DARE 5K, turned a page in my notebook and wrote a post about the run I had taken that morning. Then again, that doesn’t always happen either. Sometimes I finish a blog post and stop.

I suppose I would avoid the problem in my novel if I worked from an outline. I could just move on to the scene that comes next or even pick a scene several Roman numerals down the page. In short, I would know what else was going to happen. In the blog, I could make a list of future topics to choose from.

In the novel I am currently working on, I only kind of sort of know what is going to happen. And I keep changing it and adding things. What’s that about? Regarding my blog, well that’s about my life and if you think that’s ever going to proceed in an orderly fashion, you clearly have no understanding of my character.

I don’t know why I’m even writing a blog post about this. Whenever you talk about a writing problem (or any other problem for that matter), all kinds of people are ready to chip in all sorts of advice, comprising quite a range of helpfulness and well-meaningness (my computer says well-meaningness is not a word, but what does a computer know?).

On the other hand, I had to write something. There I was, sitting next to my notebook, pen in hand, poised as it were for literary exercise. I have learned that if one writes any words at all, one can often sleaze over into writing about what one originally wanted to.

That is just one trick, however. Another school of thought says one should do something strictly non-verbal: clean the house, play an instrument, go for a walk. Everything will fall into place.

Frankly, I do both things. I sit at my job doing my work, which is strictly non-verbal. Then on my break I sit at my notebook and write… what I can. It sometimes makes for a very satisfying day.

Oh dear, that sounded like the end of my blog post. Now I’m stuck again.

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Lame and Late

Posted on August 9, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is after 8 p.m. as I type this. I don’t know that I’ve ever written my blog post this late before, although perhaps I have. I knew earlier I would be late with this, but I wasn’t too worried. After all, it is Lame Post Friday. One might have thought I had a built-in title: Better Lame Than Never. That would have been good. Unfortunately, I already used it.

Just before I started typing, I looked it up, to be sure. Very instructive to read old posts. This one was from 2011. I felt encouraged at that time because I was approaching 200 blog posts. 200! What an amateur! Now I’m over 1100! Oh wait, I’m still an amateur. I’ve just written more blog posts.

Not that there is anything wrong with being an amateur. An amateur is one who does something for the love of it. I love writing my blog! Even when I can’t think of anything clever to say! Oh, I know, some people probably think I never say anything clever. Some people just gotta be that way.

I have been doing other writing today. I spent my lunch break writing a couple new scenes for my novel. I wrote more at the laundromat after work. Then I gave it up in a wave of lame. When I got home I worked on my article for Mohawk Valley Living. Oh, I don’t know if it will be good enough, but I will not bother you with my angst.

I see I am over 200 words. Time to come up with a punchy conclusion and dream about writing a better blog post tomorrow. Sad but true, I liked my post titled Better Lame Than Never better than this one. I should check back to this one 900 or so posts from now and see what I think then.

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How I Roll

Posted on August 7, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

One thing I remember from Junior High School science is the law of inertia: an object at rest tends to remain at rest, an object in motion tends to remain in motion. I will add: a blogger writing silly posts tends to continue writing silly posts. Thus, Wuss-out Wednesday follows Tired Tuesday.

In my defense, the cold lingers, I was late getting home from work, and the writing problems continue. On the other hand, the cold seems to be on the way out, my dear husband fixed dinner when I did get home, and the writing does progress, at least by dribs and drabs. After all, it’s Wuss-out Wednesday, not Whiny Wednesday (although I’m sure some feel I whine all the time. I can’t help other people’s definitions).

I have never mentioned in this space my other writing gig. I write articles for my new favorite magazine: Mohawk Valley Living. One reason I have not mentioned it is that I was meaning to write a whole nice post about the magazine. It’s really cool, with all kinds of articles and information about the area. So I wanted to write a really good post about it, not just a brief shout-out. I bring it up now because it is part of my current writing angst. The deadline for the September issue is looming, and I’m having trouble getting anything down.

Odd thing about that. I can’t write, I can’t write, I can’t write. Then I sit down and write. Sometimes it seems that is just how I roll. I don’t exactly mind it, although it is a little nerve-wracking waiting for the time when I sit down and write. One would think it is a matter of just getting my butt into the chair and, you know, writing. Sometimes I try it and I find out, not so much. Today was one of those times. I put my butt in the chair. I opened the notebook. I put the pen on the page. I wrote.

And it just wasn’t very good. I persevered. I wrote a paragraph, then another paragraph. I felt happy when it was time to go to work so I could stop writing down these bad paragraphs. While I worked, I thought about that article and an idea for another article. At the next break, I sat down and very easily wrote a good page on the other article. What’s that all about?

So now I must assess what I have written, look up a few things, write some more, edit, etc. It should be fine. In the meantime, this is the best I can do for today’s blog post. Perhaps after I finish those articles, I can work on that good blog post about Mohawk Valley Living.

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You’ve Been There, Right?

Posted on August 6, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sorry, folks, but it’s Tired Tuesday. I do have a post on a cheesy movie mostly written in my notebook. But it is only MOSTLY written, and it’s running long, as these posts tend to do. I just don’t feel like typing in that many words and I am clearly incapable of coming up with any more. On that topic, anyways. Apparently I can come up with some for a Tired Tuesday post.

My heinous cold drags on. I am better but just not better enough. You know how it is, just when you think, “Oh yeah, I got this,” you go off into a huge coughing jag that give you a headache or a sore gut or, worst of all, incontinence (curse you, middle age!). And the lightheaded, macroni-legged, heavy, awful SICK feeling. I list these symptoms not so much in the spirit of whining (although I fully expect to be accused of same) but with an air of “We’ve all been there.” Um, you’ve been there, haven’t you?

Be all that as it may, my writing has once again stagnated. I don’t know if I should blame the cold, the Ann Rule book I still have not finished, or my own lack of oomph. I suppose I had better blame myself. After all, personal responsibility is an empowering thing.

Then again, why assign blame at all? What is it with this finger-pointing, anyways? Didn’t your mother ever tell you it was impolite to point? A better thing to do right now, I believe, is to never mind WHY I haven’t written, but to write right now.

And oh, look, I did. Over 200 words of a fairly silly blog post. We’ll try for that cheesy movie write-up again on Wednesday.

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Drive On

Posted on August 4, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tried, I tried to turn over a new leaf and have fewer posts about Why I Can’t Write a Post Today, and I believe I have had some success. Why, I didn’t even have a Lame Post Friday this week (last week, according to the calendar, but I subscribe to the theory that the week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday). But today, there is no getting away from it, is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

In my defense, what I thought was fall allergies making an early appearance has turned out to be a full-blown cold. A cold is arguably the worst disease that can befall one: it’s not bad enough that anybody feels sorry for you but it’s bad enough that you feel like you are going to die or at least not live very well for the foreseeable future. Even now, some readers are shaking their heads saying, “Oh, get over yourself! Have a cup of tea and DRIVE ON!”

Tea. Hmmm, that’s a good idea.

We interrupt this blog post while Mohawk Valley Girl brews a cup of green tea and adds lemon and honey.

OK, back with the tea and trying to think of something profound to say about the difficulty of writing with a bad cold (yeah, I know, when was the last time you had a good cold?). It’s the vague in the head feeling that troubles me most at these times (cue unkind remarks about how I suffer from a vague mind most of the time). But, getting back to the advice to get over myself, I have proved to myself on other occasions that I am capable of doing more than I think I am.

Most recently I proved it yesterday, when I ran for 45 minutes including a rather impressive hill at the beginning of my third day of feeling quite dreadful. And right now, I have written over 300 words of what I hope is a perfectly acceptable blog post. Or do I flatter myself?

I think next I’ll take another look at that novel I keep alluding to. Have a nice Sunday, everybody.

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Am I a Bad Blogger?

Posted on July 29, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am beginning to wonder about my future as a blogger. Astute readers will have noticed that each day I have a potential excuse for not doing a real post: Middle-aged Musings Monday, Tired Tuesday, Wuss-out Wednesday, Non-Sequitur Thursday, Lame Post Friday, and Wrist to Forehead Sunday (yes, my week begins on Monday. Doesn’t yours?).

Ooh, look at that, I left out Saturday. I enjoy to do Running Commentary Saturday, but I consider Running Commentary to be a real post. In fact, it takes a good deal of effort, because for Running Commentary I do, in fact, run. But we all know I do not scruple to do a foolish post on a Saturday. It just doesn’t have a name.

When I first started Middle-aged Musings Monday, I actually did write a post most of the time. By “write a post” I mean I hand wrote a rough draft, usually while on a break at work, which I later typed into the computer, often with some amount of editing. However, as time goes on, I often find myself blogging off the cuff, sitting at the computer, typing off the top of my head and hoping for the best.

Sometimes it works out pretty good. I write something fairly amusing, fellow bloggers reward me by hitting the “Like” button, and we all drive on. Sometimes I sit here and say, “Oh dear, what in the world am I going to put?”

Guess which type of day today is.

In any case, I usually end by craving your indulgence and hoping to do better in the future, sometimes citing actual posts I hope to write. In fact, today I began a rather fun post about a cheesy movie I saw and I do still intend to write about a couple of Mohawk Valley adventures I had.

I guess my musing for today is to ask myself, is this an OK way to run a blog? And I guess my answer is, it’ll have do do for now, because this is all i got.

Hope to see you all on Tired Tuesday.

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So Many Posts, So Little Time

Posted on July 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am writing my Saturday post earlier in the day than I did last Saturday. Last Saturday I became so absorbed in my to-do list that I did not get to my blog post (which WAS on the to-do list) till I was much too tired to make a real success of it. Still, one does one’s humble best.

Today I have no to-do list, although I had and have several things to in fact do. Some are blogworthy, but I want to take some time and do good posts on them, not fly by the seat of my pants posts (which makes for an awkward mental image in addition to being a cliche, but it amused me to mention the seat of my pants). Therefore, I will offer a brief summary of today’s activities, which may also serve as a preview of coming attractions.

I ran yesterday so did not plan to run today. I could still write a Running Commentary about that run, although it is fast fading from memory. I did manage to write a few postcards and walk with my dog Tabby to the post office with them, rendering a Pedestrian Post eligible.

Next I attended Coffee and Conversation with a Cop. What a great program! I want to do a good blog post on that! I left there in time to shop at the Herkimer County Humane Society’s Garage Sale, another event which deserves a real post.

After a couple more errands, I came back home for some cleaning chores to be followed by cooking chores. I have not done a cooking post in a while, and I am often threatening to do a cleaning post. I tell you, the possibilities are endless!

But before I write any more, I must return to my cooking and cleaning. And I MIGHT also watch a cheesy movie such as I love to write about. And work on my novel, which if anybody who read yesterday’s post will know is going well once again.

I do hope everybody’s Saturday is progressing as pleasantly and productively as mine is.

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Novel Thoughts

Posted on July 26, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Dammit, I can WRITE. I am an awesome writer! You would not BELIEVE the fiction that comes from these same fingers that are currently typing this Friday Lame Post. Wait a minute, I mean you WOULD believe it, because my characters are wonderful, and the story would carry you along.

I had thought NOT to have a Friday Lame Post this week since I have been not exactly non-lame for most of the rest of the week. I guess nobody believed that was going to happen, although who knows, it may someday. To that end (as well as for my fitness and weight-loss goals), I ran this morning. I fully intended to write a Running Commentary while at work. Well, let me explain what happened, starting yesterday.

I have mentioned the problems I have been having with the novel I am writing. It’s been at kind of a standstill, progressing at irregular dribs and drabs. Well-written dribs and drabs, I hope, but still. But my determination is unwavering and I persevere. I spend a good portion of every day at least THINKING about my plot and my characters. I come to very few conclusions.

Until yesterday. There I was, at my machine, hard at work, when two lines came to me, rather dramatic lines spoken by two characters who have previously had no interaction. I pondered them and found them to be good. I surreptitiously pulled out the little notebook I carry in my BDU pants and jotted them down. I pondered them more, where they were said, who else was there, what else was happening.

Then the buzzer rang for the two o’clock break. I ran to my full-size notebook and started writing like mad! That has not happened to me in YEARS! A co-worker made a sarcastic remark about my leaving my machine turned on. I went and turned it off. He made another couple of sarcastic remarks. I ignored them.

“Kind of busy here,” I said, which was not particularly well-received, but I was buried in the fiction by now and was unaware of further sarcastic remarks. It was great.

I’ll be damned if a similar thing didn’t happen to me today, on breaks and on lunchs. Perhaps the writing was a little less intense, but I liked it. I admit it wasn’t all good. I would write a scene, then think about it later, realize there was a better thing to happen, get to the next break and write a new, better scene. Oh, it was fun. This is the way writing was meant to be!

And so I didn’t write a blog post. And I’m not apologizing about it. I’m going to go back and work on my novel some more. When I finish it and publish it, you can read it and tell me if I wasn’t right to do so.

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