Writer Blocked

Every morning at the crack of dawn, I gather the news of my world and compile it on my blog site at a coffee shop down the street from my apartment. I love this time of day and the coffee-sipping and blog-contributing that goes along with it. I love that for an hour or so it’s just me, my thoughts, keystrokes, soft music, and espresso aromas. I tend to commit some pretty good words to paper before the sun comes up and the odd daily drama of other early rising Napervillians gets too annoying. (That's another story.)

In the evening, I edit. Sometimes I finish the edit and sometimes I postpone it till the next day if I'm on my second glass of wine already because the braising, boiling or baking is taking longer than expected.

During the month of October these morning and evening routines rendered me extremely prolific - more so than I have been in the past. I wondered why? It could be because my job involved bouncing to and from meeting, expo, event and conference, granting me less computer time at work and making me crave it at the bookends of my days. It could be because I was in a flow zone, undisturbed by anyone around me when I was blogging (and those people in the coffee shop can get pretty annoying!) Or it could be the fact that I had an endless supply of amazing material to write about. Most likely it was a combination of the three. 

Enter November. Take away the perfect storm of blog producing elements. And I am a world away from my prolific October. For the fifth day in a row, I am writer blocked. I have nothing. In fact, I am sitting at the other coffee shop this morning to stir up a new perspective. (Actually, the people at the first place became way too annoying.) Still nothing. I've been glued to a computer screen all week and typing isn't the way I want to start my morning. I can't establish any sort of creative flow. AND over the past five days, NOTHING has happened! 

October was jam-packed with excitement. It seemed like every week and in the latter part of the month, every DAY, something interesting happened. I mean ... I reunited with Ellisians, ran a Marathon, was a good bridesmaid, made some significant headway on my wedding plans, worked on some cool projects at work, spent an evening with Herb Kelleher, cooked a different meal just about every weeknight, and had an amazing Halloween. There was so much news and I was so excited every morning to rush to the coffee shop and make some melodies on my keyboard.

No melodies so far in November ... and now I'm mad at myself. I'm mad because all week long I kept thinking "there's nothing to write about" ... "there's nothing to write about." And I just realized that it was MY FAULT! Just because I didn't have things marked on my calendar, didn't mean there was no material, no events, no interesting anecdotes. There were plenty actually ... but I failed to participate in them. I didn’t say a prayer on All Saints Day (Catholic rule says if a holy day of obligation falls on a Monday or Saturday, you don’t have to go to mass though!); I didn’t vote (yes, Mom - Bad, very bad); I even made Peter eat leftovers on Monday instead of experimenting in the kitchen! So there were three potential stories ... each missed.

As a blogger, I am kind of a self titled journalist. I have no merit or credentials to be "publishing" content everyday and deeming my escapades newsworthy. Honestly, they aren’t newsworthy and I doubt many people besides my friends and family even care what I'm doing. But still I have committed to developing articles and making sure that I am trying, seeing, learning, and doing new things everyday. 

I started this blog so I could document, remember, and create everyday. I also started it because it gives me permission and freedom to see my life as precious and amazing. There were times when I couldn't see the magic every day and this blog keeps me focused. I also don’t believe that the only stories to share are those of big people. I think each of our stories is powerful, fun, and newsworthy and I love sharing mine. 


So writer's block ends now! Even with nothing planned and the inability to reach the good story in the middle of nowhere, Illinois where Peter is duck hunting, I will enthusiastically participate in life, make some news and write about it! And the good thing is that this slow news cycle is about to end anyway. Kristen's wedding, marriage preparation, Vegas baby with my boss, and Thanksgiving are sure to make the rest of the month very newsworthy. 

Lo.