It is interesting to me that I always feel like I don't have time to write, when what I really need is the correct frame of mind. What happens in my brain to clear the debris of blockage? I wish I knew. I think it has more to do with the amount of sleep I get at night than anything else. When I run short on sleep all week, all I can think of are the myriad tasks that remain undone. Even if I make a list, the list keeps changing in my mind, with the items popping up unorganized. Setting priorities has become my task for the remainder of the school year, lest I finish my short story and case study for the university, but forget to copy legal paperwork for school and send it to the appropriate personnel. Getting enough sleep, on the other hand, changes my perception of the world from a stressful, hostile environment to a calm, pleasant one.
Knowing that my work will get done frees my mind up to let ideas flow from me onto the paper without the need to be perfect the first time. I will have time to improve on them as long as I get something down to improve upon. My new set of writing tools: attention to detail, variation in sentences, quotations about writing from gifted writers, the use of active verbs, and attention to rhythm make it easier to write something worthwhile. Thanks to Tom Brennan, gifted teacher, for his powerful instruction.
