Writin' or not

[Content Disclosure: a bit of poker, a hunk of life, a twitter of a notion, a ponder of a potential, adrift in an ocean of verbs ]

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. -- Thomas Mann

There was a time when I was in my mid-twenties when I was determined to be a writer. From that experience I can honestly say that determination has nothing to do with be a writer. I suppose that is not a unique observation. Many endeavours require skill before commitment and at least for me, writing was one of them. If you can't you can't and banging your head against a wall you have no chance of climbing or painting is just crazy. You know the old watching the movie over and over waiting for a different ending.

When writing finally came to me, it was completely unexpected and not something I was seeking. But there it was one day, my voice at the tips of my keyboard and I just started to write.

Which brings me to the last week or so. I have been banging on two screenplays, nibbling around the edges of my sci-fi book and churning out gobs on internet SEO material and even getting a head start on my summer WSOP obligations. But nearly every day I have turned to this blog and come up empty, blank, move on. What is that about?

I know I ran into an old friend who started a blog and has managed four posts in just under a year. And I joined Twitter and found lots of folks have 140 character voices.

I think I will speculate myself out of my blog malaise. Blogging is a different form of writing, just google it. You will find cyber-reams of thoughts and even "rules" about what blogging is and is not. But from a personal level, there is an aspect of blogging that you either consider or you just accept and that is: Just how comfortable are you with putting your insides out there into the webosphere? Where is your privacy line? What won't you disclose? What is truly private and off-limits? Once you think you know this, try to blog every third day. Eventually, I guarantee, your "third day" will be an off day for you. Something is not quite right with your world and, of course, that is what is up for you and "should" be blog fodder. But you hesitate.

There really are rules of blogging. The ones that are important reside inside of you, in your heart, in your soul, in some deep dark recessed places. Until you come to grips with them, you will either show up only on the surface of your writing or you will post pictures of baked goods and sunsets. Nothing wrong with that, we just are more interested in hearing from your inner writer.