Pushing against stone...

I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't worked all month. Even started looking for more permanent, regular work. I love working in education, but the operative word there is work. Well, I am disappointed no longer! I stayed up way too late Sunday night. In fact I didn't go to sleep. After eight, I figured the school district didn't need me, so I got in bed with a book and prepared to catch a little nap. At nine-thirty, the phone rang. They needed me to teach. As I needed the money and wasn't in a sleep state, I said yes and hurried off to the school. I had a blast, but was unbelievably tired and hungry after work. Add to that, Mondays are karate nights and I had to do some grocery shopping. By the time we got home from karate and the kids ate and went to bed, I was wiped out. Too tired to eat even! I sat in laptop central and checked my email. My dear crit partner needed me to fill in for her in our daily inspiration thread. Despite the fatigue, I was honored to have been asked, so I read through writerly quotes for one that would be just right.

Some members of our group took on a challenge for January to push ahead on our manuscripts. For some of us that meant outlining and plotting. For others, like me, it meant pounding out the pages. My crit partner has done an amazing job of keeping us encouraged during this month. She always had the perfect words to inspire, so when she entrusted me with the job, I felt less than equipped. Outside of schoolwork, I've never bothered with finding quotes. I try to be uplifting if I can, but the words don't seem to gel for me all the time. It took me three edits to get my little piece right, but I am proud of what I accomplished. Now, ask me what I got done on my book! Can you hear the winds sweeping through that deserted street there? See that tumbleweed passing through? Yeah, you know why? I didn't write word one on the manuscript.

Tonight, my goal is to write a few pages. I know how the story is supposed to end. The hero and heroine have finally worked out their little argument, the villain is comfortably hiding in the wings, waiting to come on-stage and wreak havoc. It's just hard to push through because I'm learning the story as I go. Once my fingers start flying over the keyboard, the story takes a life of its own and my brain isn't big enough to process it all. Every time I open my file, I get a little stage fright. I am afraid that I won't be able to live up to my characters' truth. Guess I'll have to bear in mind that bit of inspiration I shared with my writing colleagues.

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. ~Vladimir Nabakov

When I was searching for an inspiring quote, I ran into several that echoed a like sentiment. You can’t fix a blank page, so on and so forth. That’s wonderful and true, but we’ve heard it so often that the phrase has become a matter of writerly creed—something we can recite from rote that’s possibly lost some of it’s magic. But what if we shift the paradigm a bit? What if we view the page riddled with poignant words, filled with a story that refuses to remain untold, written in the world’s most inexpensive invisible ink? Lemon juice. Until you hold the page to a hot bulb, the story remains a restless secret.

WE are the illuminators, and just in case any of you are left with doubts after this nearly month-long adventure, WE ARE WRITERS! Every day, we pour our hearts and souls onto a page via pen or keyboard. And when we can’t do that, we’re thinking about it.

After spending time with this awesome group of writers, I am certain that not one of us travels through our day without experiencing a flash of recognition, or if we’re lucky, an ah-ha moment care of the characters rattling through our heads. Those imaginary friends are as real in cases as the people we interact with daily. Though we sleep, our characters don’t. And I’m sure they must sneak about, fueling our dreams, scribbling madly in uncapped supplies of lemon juice onto our blank pages in hopes that we believe in them enough—in ourselves enough—to flip the switch.

It sounds so easy when we say it like this, but we know better.

Writing is what we do because we can’t NOT do it. It IS work, and some days the words are one torturous moment to the next. But sometimes, and I’m convinced it’s these that feed the creativity monster, sometimes, the writing is pure magic. As enrapturing as first love, intoxicating as wine. Today, the pages await the magician’s touch—YOUR touch. Words only you can see in a story only you can tell. BELIEVING is seeing, so don’t leave the world waiting. Write on, my friends, WRITE ON!!!