There are seasons where, especially when I’m teaching at the university, I can’t seem to make time to sit at the computer and write. There is only so much time in the day and there are days where I’ve spent so many hours hunched over a screen that I can’t bring myself to sit at my desk anymore. Not even to play video games (gasp)!
But it’s important to keep the creative juices flowing. Even in moments like right now, where I don’t have a lot on my mind except how much work I have to do to close the semester and how long it has been since I’ve been able to read for fun or write on my novel, I try to keep the schedule. The rhythm. The ritual. The deadlines.
For Dungeons and Dragons, it’s super easy. My friends come on Fridays and we play a game. On good weeks I’ve prepped well; on bad weeks I have to improv the whole time, based on my notes from sessions prior.
Blogging can be harder. It’s tempting sometimes to give it up, like my short-lived attempt at podcasting. It’s hard to find the motivation sometimes. But there are two differences between blogging and podcasting that make blogging more attractive. First, I am a writer. I like to write. Even when I did theatre, I loved writing and directing, not performing. Podcasting scratched an itch I don’t really have and it. Secondly, much as it surprises me sometimes, I have a small but frequent readership here. Podcasts take time to build, but it’s disheartening to start one and see 1 listen a week for several weeks, ramping up to 5 in my biggest week. It took work that I didn’t enjoy to scratch an itch I didn’t have to reach very few people. Versus the blog is work that is what I want to do, scratching the itch I constantly have, and reach a decent crowd. I’m thankful that you’ve taken the time to read my posts (even this lament of mine).
But really. Thank you for reading.