Hiatus

So, I’ve spent a good bit of time tonight writing. But I also find myself really liking that piece and wanting to take more time to think it through…to play with the words and their order…to push my craft forward a bit rather than simply producing a quick finished product. This was always going to happen. I love the act of writing too much to rush it, and the truth is that five of the seven nights of the week my writing is going to be more rushed than I care for it to be. I suppose it was part of the initial challenge. But tonight the piece means too much to me to make it less than it’s potential. So the dilemma is this, do I finish the piece quickly just for the sake of meeting the requirements of this challenge that I have set for myself? Or do I respect the piece and myself as a writer and let it be for now? (I think my bias is evident even in the wording of those hypotheticals.)

So, I’ve also spent a good bit of time tonight agonizing over this decision because a part of me feels like, “Hey, it’s Friday, you’re exhausted and want to relax…let the writing go.” Which concerns me because I don’t want to quit just out of fatigue and excise. Still another part of me offers justification, “Hey, you’re not lazy! You really like this piece and want to take your time and that is okay.” And I have to say, I’m pretty convincing on both sides of this argument…

I’m not sure where the absolute truth lies but I’m being kind to myself and extending some grace and giving myself credit for the draft not published and for this small bit of accountability writing for Day Six. The point of this endeavor after all was to create a writing discipline and not to create a writing misery. (Maybe something to keep in mind as a teacher of writers as well…) And I have taken the time tonight to write, so I don’t think I have cheated the challenge.

All this, just to say, today I am on hiatus. A new fresher more wide awake and more thought out blog awaits completion and publication tomorrow. I’m eager to return to it tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see its evolution on the page and then to share it with you.

But for tonight, I’ll just leave a link to one of my favorite poems of late, one that I’m sure to write from eventually (when I find words to put to my connection to it). It is Denise Levertov’s “Making Peace”

A peace offering of sorts for not having a real blog tonight. Enjoy! But more importantly let this poem lead you to wonder–linger with it, it’s totally worth it.

(Day six, done, sort of)