No Excuses!

There are no excuses for not writing.

Even though I make excuses all the time.
The biggest excuse, or “writerly lie”, that I tell myself is that I don’t have enough time.  But, honestly, that’s bullshit.  Because, as it turns out, I always have enough time to drop whatever I’m doing to serve someone else.  I don’t make time for myself and make my writing, or photography, priorities.  My creative pursuits are the first thing to drop by the wayside when I get a little busy or even the slightest bit stressed.

Here’s the thing though; I made time to meditate for the past two weeks.
Yeah, I’ve been taking a meditation class at the Houston Zen Center with my blushing bride, The Organizing Decorator.  We’ve been to three of the five classes in this series, and my darling wife has already attended this class.  Part of our homework was to meditate, if possible, every day.  So, for nearly two weeks now, I’ve found at least fifteen minutes every day in a schedule that I tell myself is too packed to find time to write.  I guess, if I really put my mind to it and wanted it bad enough, I would find the time to write.

In May of last year, I shared Chuck Wendig’s post 25 Lies Writers Tell (And Start To Believe), many of which are excuses for why we can’t write or why our writing isn’t working.  The first and, I would argue, the most common, excuse on that list is “I don’t have time.”  But, if you have time to read blogs like mine, then you have the time to write.  (And, so do I, so, that’s not a real excuse any more!)
The second biggest lie, is the fourth and fifth lies from that list, namely “Oh no!  Writer’s block again!” and “I can only write when my muse allows!”, are closely related.  By that I mean that they are really the same “problem”.  They’re both someone who’s not making time to write on a regular basis.  And, yeah, that’s me.  Or, I suppose you could say that I’ve had writer’s block for the better part of ten years.  Either way, the end result is the same; nothing written.

So, as long as you’re not creating, why not follow that link, again if you looked at it last year with me, and see what excuses you’re giving for not pursuing your creative goals.  It’s okay, most of us have done it.  Just read, chuckle, and then stop doing it.
I’ll do my best to join you in stopping the excuses this year, too.

Oh, and just because this is geared more toward writers than any other type of creative person, don’t think that the same thing doesn’t apply to photographers or painters or sculptors or any other creative calling.  It does and you can find these lies just as applicable to you