Idle Hands....

"Shine On...Shine On Harvest Moon!"

As November draws to a close, I frown at my lack of creativity this month. There's no end to material to write about, but whenever an idea arises it is neither the place or time to jot the idea down for later exploration. Not that this is the best of excuses, I know, but it's an excuse nonetheless.

Several times I've sat down to my 'puter with an idea burning in my mind, but then I sit there, stumped, with writer's block. Waiting it out a few minutes, I then place my hands on the keyboard and let my thoughts flow, but the thoughts never seem pertinent to my original idea. They're just random thoughts, which have greased the way for insertion of more relatable words (brainstorming on the fly), but they remain just that, random. Saving my barely started draft, I vow to come back to it later, but even when I do, I'm more of the mind to scrap it and start fresh with something else. Such is the case tonight. This blog is the the third attempt at producing something; the first two drafts, hardly being anything more than a couple of half-assed opening lines, will soon face an unceremonious expunging.

Where I'm at with writing is difficult to put into words. As source material, I'm not one to journal, at least not in the conventional sense. You won't often find me detailing my day/week/month in a chronological way. Rather than linear or structured journaling, however, I'll let one...thought or revelation I've had that day become the starting point at which to begin. Things just flow from there on out, and sometimes, a new thought causes my entire blog to change. Sometimes, this change in direction results in the deletion of a bulk of my work in lieu of the newer thought.

I enjoy the writing process more than I ever did in High School, though I did enjoy it then, but I wasn't as aware of it. Similar to the way mathematically inclined people describe their love of the rules of arithmetic, I describe a love for the rules and structure of grammar.

Deviating from the unbending rules of mathematics, however, grammar can be flexible. Sure, there are rules to follow, but you can work within those rules to express something. Balancing out an equation is very linear and there isn't much in the way of expression to it. Take a single sentence - any random sentence in the world, and depending on the person, it can be expressed in a nearly infinite number of ways. "Love," for example, can be (has been) expressed in...well...more ways than I can count. And each way has the potential for being grammatically correct.

"All You Need Is Love!"

Of course, you can bend - or ignore - the rules of grammar to vary degrees, and still achieve a level of mastery that some of the most profound adherents to grammar will never achieve. It really pulls the saying, "he who is a master of words is a master of men," under the microscope.

Forgive my digression, but just being able to spew words with which I'm comfortable is a good thing. It could be about defecation, but as long I'm happy with the flow it's all good. That my fingers are moving like they haven't in a month's time is amazing.

How shall I overcome this...stagnation? This writer's block? Read more and live more, I think. Exposure to more stimuli might help. Stir things up a bit and see what comes out of the cauldron.