Without Excuse

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

I know that yesterday I wrote about people taking the words of Jesus out of context to prove a political viewpoint.

So, while this post isn’t political (at least two sentences in), I am breaking that rule with the words of Paul.

Paul is talking about no excuse for sin, not my lack of excuses for lack of not writing. Although, if you consider that a squandering of my gifts we may be in repentance-needing territory.

Writers love to share memes about procrastination and writer’s block. I’ve shared a few of my own.

You know the time to write, when you have to make sure the lighting is just right, your seat is just right, you have all the supplies, paper, pens, computers, that you need, you have the beverage of your choice at hand. For good measure, throw in a candle and some mood music.

On a side note, if you’re already shopping for my upcoming birthday, I could use a good Evergreen scented candle for my office. They’re not easy to find this time of year.

I digress.

Pick the music that inspires you of course. Stephen King listens to bands like Metallica and Anthrax. Who amongst us is surprised?

Again, I digress.

What I’m getting at is that, I now have the almost perfect setting.

More perfect would actually be at a beach house with a huge window overlooking the ocean.

But for now, I’ll take my newly reorganized office. It’s comfortable. I’m surrounded by all of my favorite things. I have everything I need to write.

So, why then…

Truth is, I am writing. Observant readers will note this is two posts in two days. I intend to be blogging on a more frequent basis.

I’ve worked on a short story project. I’ve worked on a script.

I did take a day to concentrate on a graphic design project I want to launch by fall.

So, I’m writing.

I have not written The Great American Novel (TM), nor have I made the New York Times Bestseller List.

Yet.

But I’ve been writing.

The point here, if there is one, is that I have all of the resources and tools I need to put one word in front of the other. So, that’s what I’m doing.

Someday, I’ll put them in the right order and all will be amazed at my brilliance.

Gift or not, brilliant writing takes time.

I did take a detour yesterday with another free class about how to become a bazillionaire through blogging.

To be fair, the first ten minutes were mostly introduction. I had that playing in the background whilst I watched the last ten minutes of Mockingjay Part 2.

It didn’t matter. The content was just not something I need or can use. I’m sure that some find it extremely valuable. But if you recall when I wrote about The Kind of Writer I Want to Be, I told you that I don’t want to be a copywriter writing for content mills. I just don’t.

I don’t want to worry about choosing the more lucrative word. To me, crafting every sentence so that it ranks higher on a Google search is not meaningful writing.

Still, when the promo came through for this class, I thought that since the authorities have said this week that there is no scheduled end to our house arrest, I should check it out. I did.

Even under house arrest, I couldn’t stay on until the pitch at the end.

See how long it took me to make this political?

So why am I telling you all of this? It’s like Gimli said:

“Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?”

No wait it’s not quite like that, it’s more like.

Semi-perfect writing environment. All the necessary tools. What am I waiting for?

Well, I’m not.

Okay, I’ll hurry and get to the point because we all have places not to go this weekend.

The reality is that there is never a perfect place to write, never a perfect time, never the perfect tools.

Sure, things can make it better, and I’ve been fortunate enough to do that.

One of my high school English teachers had this quote posted on the bulletin board:

“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”

– Mary Heaton Vorse

On a side note, I will say that this quote is the only thing I’ve (knowingly) read by Mary Heaton Vorse.

I wonder if she had the perfect writing environment? She fought for women’s suffrage and civil rights, so I’m guessing not. But apparently, she didn’t let that stop her.

Maybe all the pieces have fallen in place for you to live your dream, reach your goal, be that thing you were born to be.

My guess is that they haven’t.

Do it anyway.

Remember? No excuses.

Photo by RetroSupply on Unsplash

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