Forging While the Iron is Hot

What I have increasingly learned about writing is that I need to “just do it” when the idea strikes.

The “problem” I have always had is that I am seldom in a position to act on my ideas when I have them.

I have spent virtually all my adult life being in a position where “I have to get my work done” took the front seat in my experience of life. Not because I was greedy or trying to amass wealth, but because I had to deal with the reality of shut-off notices and bill collectors… as I have never been employed at doing anything that earned me more than basic “scraping by.”

Ironic, considering that I have a college degree from a highly accredited University. Problem is, I never had the kind of ambition to pursue a conventional career… and the things I did have an inclination to pursue were never well compensated—if they were compensated at all.

So I have made reams and reams of in-the-moment-notes of the ideas I have had, all with the intention of "coming back someday" to develop said ideas into articles, blog posts and even books.

The problem is always the same: "Someday" never arrives... because I can't afford them to.

Often, I find myself waiting for the "perfect day" to sit down and start writing. Of course, there is no such thing as perfection... so that's not going to happen. Then I tell myself that I just "need to get organized." Well, I did that back in spring when we spent a few days in Joshua Tree... then I did some more of it while we were in Denmark for three weeks. Aside from that, two articles were actually written... in spite of the fact that I have notes enough for about 1200.

In the end, it increasingly seems like I just need to sit down and write when the mood strikes me.

When I view that in the context of "I can't AFFORD that," the net result is that I have pretty much become a non-writer.

And that makes me feel sad.