A Mindful Writer (Part 1 of 3)

I enjoy writing, and at times I feel this driving need to write.

Unfortunately, as I experienced recently, the words don’t want to come. Or the words show up, and they’re the wrong words for what I’m trying to say. It’s not the words’ fault; sometimes I just need to write but what I want to write isn’t working.

I’ve developed a few strategies for handling this, but first: a few thoughts on being a writer from my perspective. (If you are a writer, you might not agree with more than 10% of my opinions here. That’s cool – your mileage may vary.)

Why do I write?

Here’s where I will diverge from most writers: I don’t do it to become a well-known or well-purchased author. Those would be nice, but they aren’t my goal.

I am not out to become a professional writer to make a living. I have a day job to pay the bills and buy Writer’s Digest books. So I’m not struggling with many of the concerns professional full-time writers deal with because it isn’t my goal to be in that occupation.

My goal is to write what I want to write. Sure I’ll work on trying to edit it, polish it up, and shape it for public consumption. But in the end, it’s for me because I want and need to.

I then post or publish my writing to various outlets so that they might touch someone. It doesn’t matter if it’s not 20,000 people; if one person benefits from something I’ve written, then I’m a successful writer. Of course I’ll never have 50,000 copies of my book sold with that attitude. See above.

What do I write?

My writing is primarily non-fiction. I love reading fiction, but I’m not really moved to write it.

Of course, when the muse slaps me upside the head and points at some fiction idea that refuses to leave my brain, I’ll probably go ahead and write it. It’s just that it may never meet another eye than mine.

I’m working on my blog about Mindfulness. This blog is essentially my Journey Journal as I take control of my life thanks to Mindfulness therapy. I’ve expanded a bit since its start to chronicle how mindful attitudes and behaviors continue to affect and benefit my life in various ways.

I have a separate blog for miscellaneous writings such as poetry, short stories, and so on. I write occasional articles for Yahoo Contributor Network, and submit the occasional item to magazines (such as a recent submission to Weird Tales Magazine).

I’m also working on my second draft of my book examining the accounts of Lot in Sodom and the Levite priest in Gibeah based on the foundational Hebrew and Greek texts rather than English translations. It’s truly a labor of love, and one which refused to let me abandon it after the first draft was completed (granted it was completed in 2004, so I was able to put it away for awhile, but not forever).

When do I write?

Oh, here we go.

I write when I can, which often means jotting notes on napkins or typing out texts to myself on my phone for later development. I have notebooks galore full of bits.

But seriously? I write when I want or need to. If I don’t want to, or don’t feel the drive, then I don’t worry about it.

(Sound of me being pelted with rotten tomatoes by traditional and professional writers)

I know I’m supposed to write x number of words or pages every day according to standard writing advice. But if I don’t feel like doing that, then I don’t. I’m not going to sell 50,000 copies of my book with that attitude, but…. Well, you know the rest.