Ten minutes and then I’m going to bed. A handful of things to report: I’m definitely experiencing starts and fits in the writer’s groove. Most of that has to do with trying to write around my life as opposed to writing and then everything else. To all you writers out there, if you put the craft first the rewards will be amazing. I haven’t necessarily done that over the past few years (read decade and a half minimum) because of a number of reasons.
I’m not blaming fatherhood. I’m blaming laziness and adulting. I’m blaming the Arizona culture, which does not entirely push writing to the top of the list of responsibilities and opportunities. AZ is wonderful for audiobooks, because you spend hours on the road each day. I was born and raised in a bus-train culture, which meant those travel hours were spent writing. In the Midwest I didn’t go anywhere, so travel hours hardly registered.
Enough about excuses. The quickest way away from writer’s block and literary despondency is to stop blaming the factors around you and write like it is all you have in your life—in your heart.
Of course it isn’t that way for me. I have a woman I love. We have kids we love and care for. We are building a life together. I am still including time in that life for more than 10 minutes a day at the page. What I need to remember most is that nobody beyond my partner wants to give me that time. Others have needs and demands and their needs cannot outweigh my own.