Week of Blogging - Day 1

Today is the first day of my challenge to write one short blog post a day for seven days. I thought it would be appropriate to start with a short post on writing itself.


The Spark

Some people can put out a steady stream of consistent writing. I am not one of those people. My writing comes in fits and starts, with large blocks of text being cranked out in single sessions, followed by days or even weeks of nothing. Normally I will start writing and go for awhile before hitting some sort of roadblock, at which time I save the work I've done and then put it aside until I get the idea or wording I am looking for. Whenever I enter into one of those breakout moments where I  have the next thought or revision of what I'm working on, I try to keep writing until I've completely exhausted that moment, even if it takes me late into the night to do so. Then I'll spend the next few days or so thinking over what I've written and where I want to go next. You can think of my writing as somewhat like the flame from a natural gas leak. It takes a little while for the gas to fill the air, but with a bit of time you have enough so that a small spark will ignite a fireball. I burn through the material I have ready, and then days pass where the thoughts start building up again, ready for the next breakthrough. All I need is a spark.