Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Inspiration in a time of drought

I'm a firm believer in the law of 3s - meaning, if I come across something three times seemingly randomly, I assume it is a sign I need to look more deeply into it.  What has been floating across my realm of conciousness lately is the idea of writing every day.  Now, I think many of you know I'm a bit of a poem-a-day junkie.  In fact, most of the poems in my forthcoming collection Gold Passage were originally written as poem-a-day excercises.  But, the idea that's been nipping at me lately isn't as complex as commiting to write an entire poem everyday.  In fact, it's a lot simpler. It's the idea of giving yourself an hour a day to write.  There's no word count, no excercise.  All you have to do on a daily basis, for an hour, is sit at your computer (or your notebook) think about writing and hopefully write.  I think it's a brilliant idea and I'm going to try it.  I am a deadline driven person, but whose to say having an hour with no actual deadline attached to it won't get me out of the begining of the semester slump I seem to be facing? 

But here is the catch -- what project should I embark on?  I've got a number of projects that I'm dying to dive back into:
  • Finish writing my series of poems and short lyric fiction piece on the history of the Gravenstein Apple
  • Finally finish editing my lyric fiction piece about four women living in Pithole, PA circa 1865
  • Write a new series of poems and essays tenatively called, "Mean Mommy"
  • Finish writing a book of essays and poems inspired by the history of Jack London State Park
So, there you have it: my list of writing projects.  I list them in part to make myself accountable (now that they are on-the-record, I need to finish them) and partly to hear back from you.  Any input as to which one I should dive into an hour a day for the next few weeks?

Wish me luck!  And come join me if you like!