Listen to JIm Reed’s Red Clay Diary blog: https://youtu.be/cBsYLqoxmcc
or read his story below:
WHAT TO WRITE WHEN YOU CAN’T WRITE
You can tell I just conducted a session for writers—professionals, wannabes, muses, students, learners. That is, you can tell by reading and pondering over a little message I delivered to them. Here is what I said in Orange Beach, Alabama on Sunday morning.
Here’s something I wrote when I couldn’t think what to write.
I just let my hand move with the pencil.
Or maybe the pencil took over and moved my hand.
Sometimes I say things I don’t mean to say.
Sometimes I say things I do mean to say.
Sometimes I say things I do mean to say but don’t want
you to know I meant to say.
Sometimes I say things I don’t mean to say and hope you
know I don’t mean to say.
Sometimes I say things I do mean to say but hope you
think I didn’t mean to say.
Sometimes I say things I do mean to say but hope you get
the point of what I meant without being able to criticize
me for that moment of seemingly unintentional honesty.
Sometimes I say things I do mean to say but hope you’ll
think I didn’t mean to say so that you will get the point
without my having to take any responsibility for what
I’ve said.
Sometimes I say too much.
Sometimes I say too little.
Sometimes I wish I could say everything I want to say and
have somebody not get bored.
Sometimes I wish I were cool enough to make bold and
lasting statements without ever saying much of anything
aloud.
The point is, writers gotta write. Even if they think there is nothing to write about. Not writing about not writing is itself something to write about.
If you are a writer or a ponderer or a reader or a muse or wonderer or a wanderer among words, try writing about nothing or something or something in between.
Good luck, comrade of words unspoken and words spoken. Let’s see what you come up with
© 2019 A.D. by Jim Reed