Working Title????

by Beth Alexander Walsh

  I am suffering from writer’s avoidance. In the last week I have opened my laptop and clicked on an offending essay that needs editing five times, only to talk myself into attending to something more important like laundry, and I hate laundry.  So here I am up early on Sunday morning determined to finish editing an essay by noon so I may enjoy the rest of my day off. The following is a synopsis of my writing schedule:

6:45 a.m. Take the dog out and fix a hearty breakfast; fuel for the writing muses!!!

8:00 a.m. After leafing through the Sunday paper and watching two episodes of M*A*S*H, my laptop and I make our way to the living room.

 8:00-8:30 a.m. Work on essay!!!  😊 Change title three times and furiously delete and add sentences. Rearrange paragraph structure. Click “undo” nine times.

8:45 a.m. Light candles in fireplace for ambiance and inspiration.

8:50 a.m. Spend ten minutes on Thesaurus.com looking up words that are not even in my essay.

9:00 a.m. Delete entire paragraph and replace with two sentences.

9:10 a.m. Play with squeaky toy in hopes the dog will come and distract me.

9:11 a.m. Play with dog.

9:30 a.m. Re-read essay three times without losing concentration.

9:40 a.m. Facebook ☹

10:10 a.m. Stare vacantly at candles in fireplace.

10:20 a.m. Start grocery list.

10:23 a.m. Remove dog hair on couch with lint roller.

10:30 a.m. Add Bailey’s to coffee.

10:32 a.m. Decide to put pen to paper to get creative juices flowing.

10:35 a.m. Draw pictures of sun and moon and stars.

10:40 a.m. Wrap dog in blanket and take pictures with iPhone

10:44 a.m. Google “writers block”

11:10 a.m. Decide essay sucks and put in file of misfit writing.

“After all tomorrow is another day.” Scarlett O’Hara