Practice Makes Prolific
That’s Why I’m Grateful for It
To a writer, not much is worse than writer’s block. I rarely have writer’s block, though. I’m open to the notion that it could be because I’m not an actual writer, but it’s not something I dwell on. It’s probably just another futile attempt at keeping myself humble.
At least I try!
Easy Come Easy Go
I experienced lots of writer’s block when I wrote songs. Back then, I felt like a real songwriter. I had friends and acquaintances (in what we like to call The Biz) who performed and recorded my songs.
Songs sometimes came easily. Sometimes I couldn’t stop them. I was late for a dentist appointment once because a song exploded into my head. I had to pull over to the side of the highway and write it down. It flowed out as quickly as my hands could write.
Verse, chorus, verse, verse. As quick as that.
Some songs remain unfinished to this day.
I’d like to write songs again, but I’m afraid to. I don’t know if I can. The piano and guitar are in a fierce battle over who can accumulate the most dust. I’d hate to be the one to interrupt their friendly competition.
I Can’t Stop the Stories and Blogs
The stuff I write now is a different story. I can’t keep up with my ideas.
It’s the practice.
The more I write, the more ideas I get. It’s like a hydra. I’ve written about that before. It’s in the Ten Things You Don’t Know About Me that I still owe Martine Weber.
Soon, Martine. Soon.
How to Find the Muse…
My friend Frank McKinley wrote about it in this post.
I’m really name-dropping today, aren’t I?
Frank summed it up perfectly:
There’s nothing mystical about this. All you have to do to wake up the Muse is give it something to do.
-Frank McKinley
Give it something to do.
Practice.
I’m Grateful for Practice
I can write because I practice writing.
Every day.
My songwriter friends who still write can write songs because they practice writing songs.
Every day.
I don’t know if the practice is making me better. I think it is. I read my stuff from six months or a year ago and ask myself, “really, dude?” I want to ask the publication editors for do-overs.
I do know that Frank’s advice works. Whether or not my writing is better, the words come easier and easier. The difficulty isn’t coming up with ideas, it’s picking which one is next.
Even today, I procrastinated 30 minutes because I couldn’t decide which thing I’m grateful for to write about.
Can you guess which one I picked?
Practice wasn’t even on the list!
While trying to decide, I thought to myself…
I can’t decide what to write because I have too many ideas. I have too many ideas because writing gives me more ideas. Practice makes more prolific. (Practice does not make me perfect.) Thank goodness for practice!
So I wrote about being grateful for practice.
What are you grateful for?
