Writing is happening!

Well, at last! It looks like I’m able to dictate pretty easily right in to WordPress.  That means I can get posts out much quicker, without having to put strain on my wrists. I suppose it goes without saying, but young writers: take care of your wrists. Sure, some of it has to do with genetics. Some of it has to do with wear and tear. But if you’re at risk in any way — or in both ways, as in my case — you could end up in the same boat as me by the time you’re 30.

I’ve got to admit, it’s going to take a little getting used to. At very least, I’m used to speaking out what I write. I mean, the podcast was just part of my process. I like to read everything I write aloud, because it gives me an idea of what it sounds like rather than reads like. It’s one of those things they tell you to do  when you’re just starting out writing, but it’s something that stuck with me for a long time. I suppose it has a lot to do with my theater background. I honestly hear the characters in my head, and sometimes the best way for me to get through scene is by reading everything aloud and doing the voices myself.

Except now, it’s a little backwards. I think, then I speak. Then I have to read it again! It’s a bit like seeing your reflection in a mirror that’s flipped, in a way it’s a natural thing. It really is the oldest form of storytelling! So, this should be easy, right?

So, what to expect? There have been a lot of things on my mind since I’ve been unable to type. I’ve been thinking a great deal about the writing process, the writing community, and the writing bug. By “bug” what I mean is that sense that no matter what happens you still have to get the story out. That pull at the very center of you, that inexplicable urging that won’t go away. I don’t know where it comes from, and I certainly know that not everyone has it. What’s been particularly difficult lately, is being unable to express myself when those urgings come. Now I feel a little back-logged.

I think the first week was the easiest in a way, just to take a break. But after a while, as the hands did not improve, I think I began suppressing the creative thoughts and letting despair and frustration eclipse the process. After a while it’s absolutely maddening when you can’t even scribble down a few sentences to help you remember a scene, a character, a quip of dialogue. Granted, we’ve had so much going on in the last few weeks, the chances are I wouldn’t have had much time to write at all. Or at least I tell myself that! The truth of the matter is, even when things have been at their most difficult in my life, I’ve always found a way to write. I guess this is just that. Finding a way.

One more thing: I am insanely happy that I was born when I was. If this happened in any other time, in any other place, there would be no easy solution to this problem. I would have to get someone as a transcriptionist, and I certainly would never be able to afford that. I would have, in effect, be silenced. That’s a scary thought.

So… Happy to say: expect more to come.