I have spent the past week not being able to center. I don’t know the reason, I could make a long list; our new grandchild, the garden, buying a car, my job. It all sounds good, but while excuses may soothe they bring me no closer to what I set out to do – the daily practice of writing.
Writing practice includes three rs: reading, reflection, revision, but at its center is a hand connected to pen moving across paper, laying a terrain of words, a geography of language. Just like a musician repeating scales, a dancer persistently crossing the floor to perfect a leap, or a painter sketching the same object from different angles, writers practice writing.
Writing is a combination of craft, vision, and vulnerability. It is not an act of magic, though there are moments. It is work, and even work that is chosen requires discipline to achieve. No excuses – pen, paper, keyboard. GO!
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