A Failure To Capture

Last week I had a moment of inspiration for the topic of my next post which is for today.  However because I was out somewhere I didn't jot down my musings so that I could further develop the idea.  Naturally I can't remember what I came up with now that it is 4 days later.  This is not the first time that this has happened to me. I'm hoping that it is the last time.  I can't help but remember what I read in Stephen King's book "On Writing".  I recall that he went to many lengths to find a piece of paper regardless of what kind of paper to write down his idea then and there so that he wouldn't have to rattle his brain trying to remember.   He spoke about writing notes on napkins on the airplane, tearing off pieces of paper from here and there to jot down what came to mind.

I should have had the drive to do something like this when the idea came into my head.  It was clear to me at the time that this was necessary.  I told myself that I was close to home and would remember the idea.  That was a mistake.  I took Stephen King's words to heart back when I read them and kept a little note pad in my purse for those ideas that pop up on the spur of the moment.  So now that it has been more than 3 years ago and I'm back in the mode of writing extensively I can't fathom why I didn't take the time to write the idea down on paper or even type it into the notes section of my android phone.   

This failure has definitely identified another problem that I need to overcome as I move forward with my writing.  I must re-establish the good habits that I learned about 3 years ago.  I need to do that quickly in order to feel that I have made some progress as I continue to write in the future.

I can't help but want to pinch myself for missing this opportunity.  Every thought or idea that excites and inspires the mind brings forth an opportunity.  Failure to write it down somewhere for further development leads to a missed opportunity.  I hope that I have learned from this missed opportunity and will take the necessary steps to capitalize upon future opportunities.  

Stuck In Time

I am at a lost for inspiration this week.  I think I've bitten off more than I can chew in other areas of my personal life.  I am juggling travel plans, paying bills, household repairs, medical follow-ups, responses that I need to give to companies and challenging personal issues.  Nonetheless I am here to put something down in writing.  I would have wanted to bring something meaningful in the venue of writing to the table.  But once again it updating this blog came in on the bottom of my list of things to do.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.  This is a struggle that must be overcome.

I forced myself to come in here regardless of the fact that I had nothing planned to write.  Like anything else in life writing is a struggle.  It's up to each one of us to decide if the struggle is worth the effort.  I'm here because I am not giving up as easily as I did last time.  I must challenge myself to stave off this obstacle that I placed in my own way.  Life is not easy and we all know that for sure as we move through each day.  It's easier to give up on something than to fight for it.  I'm fighting for passion of writing.  I will be writing some letters later this week and I'm happy at that.  This will keep me going down the right path.  I hope you are fighting your own self-defeating urges and moving forward as you tackle the art of  writing.

Keeping It Up

This week has been a little bit challenging as well.  As promised I'm not letting other things keep me away from here.  There is a wealth of joy that I feel when I put something down in writing.  This is a theraputic release.  I do feel so much better when I write.  I'm very happy that I've given myself this challenge.  I'm sure it's going to get harder as time goes by.  But hopefully I can persevere.  

Although I didn't have a topic handy I came up with something on the spur of the moment.  I'm a planner and I hardly have the spontaneity to do things on a whim or on short notice.  I see I still need to work on that and just do it from time to time to change things up.

This is a short post this week but I can only hope for more to impart next time.

 

Making Excuses or Writer's Cramp

Well as it would appear I am already late in updating this blog this week.  I had a family matter to take care of and it took me off into a non-writing mode.  Part of the problem has also been that I hadn't decided what I would write about this week.  So I guess it is similar to writers cramp.  Somehow I think that terminology should be changed in accordance with how things are these days.  Perhaps it should be writing carpal tunnel syndrome.    As the keyboard demands to be used for not only writing but searching the Internet on an almost continuous basis.  Nevertheless the phrase is too long and not a catchy enough phrase.  I'm sure it's duly noted that we don't do much in the way of writing things on paper using a pen or pencil.  

The reality of the situation is that  we keep making excuses and delaying writing as long as possible.  It's important to get a hold of an unpredictable horse before it goes off course.  I had to mentally keep myself motivated by telling myself that I will write something this week even though it is past my stated deadline for making postings. I had to constantly prompt myself to get it done.  Today is the day and I couldn't delay it any longer.  So I sat down on the computer to get this accomplished and the blog updated.  

I also made a mental promise to start on the next topic this weekend so that this blog is updated timely next week.   Hopefully I can remain steadfast to the task for the remainder of the promised time period.  

  

Writers Association

I went as far as joining the Screenwriters Federation of America (SFA).  I was not eligible to join the Screen Writers Guild (SWG).  I thought the amount to join SFA was a sizeable amount of money given the fact that I had no published writings at that time.  But I was able to join as an "Associate".  I kept this membership for approximately 3 years.  During that time I visited the site on occasion. I must confess I didn't get my money's worth as I hardly ever when there to take advantage of all the membership offered at that time.  Although SFA is not like SWG there were some very noteworthy production companies listed for members to contact.   The only excuse one would have not to submit a project to see if it can be produced is a self-imposed one.  I had one no doubt whether it was a good one or not.  So this membership lapsed after I stopped updating my old blog and stopped writing on my existing projects.

Of course you have to be an active writer with published works to join SWG.  It is a notable accomplishment to be a member of that organization.  I aspire to be a member one day.   No offense to SFA.  It has really grown and is a worthwhile organization to belong to if someone takes writing seriously.

Sometime ago my sister gave me a book titled "Screenwriters Survival Guide" by Max Adams.  It was supposed to help me get to the next step of actually submitting my screenplay.  As you already know I didn't get that far.  But I still have that book for reference.  Someday soon I must crack open the cover to discover it's secrets.

My sister also gave me a website that contains other less notable writing associations.  However for the life of me I can't remember that website.  I'm sitting in an airport lounge waiting for my flight and I don't have access to any of my writing resource files.  I would like to explore getting a membership at one or more of those clubs as I must start somewhere.   I must ask my sister if she remembers even though it is so long ago.  I can only hope!