If confession is good for the soul, brace yourself … my last couple of weeks are sort of lost, and it dawned on me it was time to post a blog.  With so many other things vying for my attention lately, I don’t have a clue what I’m going to write about.

Lucky you, I’m about to go on a brainstorm.

In writing jargon, that means put the words to screen (or paper) as they come to you.  Don’t stop and edit (do not be afraid … I will edit this before posting.).  Pump out the words whether they’re gold or trash because your goal is to make your brain vomit verbiage.

Ew, that was gross alliteration….

How many people envisioned writing as sitting next to a sunny window and sipping a cup of tea (or something harder) while merrily tapping away on a keyboard?  And how many of them discovered it can often be more like staring at a blank chalkboard (okay, if you’re under thirty, you might have to look that up) while raking their fingernails across it?

Umm … all of them?

I’ve already pondered what motivates writers, but this situation does remind me of a joke (of course):  A writer died and was told he could choose between going to heaven or to hell.  He wanted to make an informed choice, so the angel took him to hell first.  Writers were chained to their desks and furiously banged away on their keyboards while they were lashed with fiery whips.

“Ew, let me see heaven,” he said.  So the angel took him there and he saw writers chained to their desks and furiously banging away on their keyboards while they were lashed with fiery whips.  “Wait a minute,” the writer said, “this is just like the other place.”

“Oh no, there’s a difference,” the angel replied.  “Here you get published.”

I’ll leave you to ponder that one for a while.  It’s time to grab a cup of tea (or something harder) and chain myself to the desk and get to work.  Hey, where did that whip come from…?