Paving Stones

I retired from my job Friday and already I'm getting notices from my friends saying that now I have no excuse for not getting one of my stories finished. While it is true that my job is no longer an issue, I don't think I've had very good excuses before for not writing. I always feel I'm being cheated of something important when I can't work on the novels and short stories I've got in piles on my computer. You would think I'd do something about that. Pain is a great leveler.

I do blog a lot, quite regularly in fact. Virtually every day I'm posting something on one of multiple blogs.  Each one has a different function but that wasn't always the case. Blogging, for me, is and has always been to relieve my stress and get all the stuff that is chaotic inside me outside. That's actually not blogging, it is journaling and although it is cathartic for me, I'm pretty certain that the public is not interested in my therapy.

I set this blog up to ensure I spent some time focusing on THE WRITING and to keep those posts from my therapy in the journal. One hopes, with the elimination of one source of stress, that there will be fewer depressing journal posts and more positive writing ones. It would be really nice if there were more actual writing on stories and about my processes and less about the the negative aspects of pain.

The first thing I have to do is start planning my days to include real writing rather than blogging. I have to organize what blogging I do so it has a bit more focus and is more pertinent. That's my intention. Most good intentions end up as paving stones on the path to a cook out where we're the main course.

Monday I'll be on the road to Arkansas to pick up my granddaughter and visit my son. I'll return on Friday. There is limited internet (think none) at his house. So, I should be able to sit down and do some real writing. Maybe by the time I get back, the routine will be set up and I'll have no problem sticking to it. Right?

Hand me the next paving stone, please.