Whatever that means. Ok, I’m well aware what it means. Though I’m not a Happy New Year Scrooge, I also don’t embrace the whole start over and make a resolution thing. On the way home from an errand recently, I experienced a prophetic moment. “Roadhouse Blues” by the Doors came on the radio. As I slapped my thigh in rhythm, the lyrics took on a new meaning for me.
“Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel.” Well, duh. But at that moment I thought it was brilliant. I wasn’t making a resolution, I was singing a song. It’s important for me right now to focus. My current writing project is at the stage that it has become a bit of a chore.
It pains me to admit that it’s tedious. A non-fiction project, the fun for me has been gathering the research. Poring over hundreds of old newspaper articles is fun for me. Tracking down elusive reference sources is like solving a mystery. Putting the information together in my head is enjoyable. It’s the translation to the page that is lackluster.
My method of writing is old-school. I write best in longhand. That’s how I learned. Pushing a pen across the paper is comforting to me. And yes, that means I have the extra work of typing it in. I loathe typing. I’m not kidding. It’s just so god-awful boring. As soon as I begin to feel a tad bored, my focus dissipates and my mind wanders. It snaps back quickly as I challenge myself to edit as I type. For me, it makes my writing better.
But I challenged myself to type this chapter directly into the computer. Bad move. I estimate it’s taking 2-3x longer for me to complete this chapter. Live and learn. From now on, when my mind starts to wander I will channel the Doors.