Academe (where a weathered historian shares)
Time disappears when writing. Locating the right word and articulating the right phrase, sentence, paragraph become all-absorbing. Nothing else exists, just the piece of paper and pen or keyboard and books. Writing is an act of creation.
Joy exists when the theme that will thread through a piece of writing is found. Isolated ideas group themselves around each other. They point at each other, sometimes to say, “Hey! I’m just like that one!” and sometimes to say, “Hey! I couldn’t disagree with that one more!” Writing is an act of discovery.
Deciding the fate of a paragraph that does not belong may be more difficult than writing it in the first place. It sticks like a poppy seed between teeth. It irritates but it is not immediately evident that it needs to be removed. Subconsciously it pokes and vexes before its banishment1 becomes a conscious compulsoriness. Writing is an act of destruction.
The now self (not past self, not future self) exists when writing.2 One’s attention may try to wander and may in fact wander, but writing demands a constant refocusing of one’s attention back onto it. Writing is an act of meditation.
Writing is thinking.3
With Critters, It’s Personal
The word is out. My yard’s the place to find some nibbles in the middle of harsh winter.
Overnight I’d see a rabbit or two. I don’t know where they hide during the day, but at night they’re in my yard, scratching with their little paws at the spots where leftover seeds might be found. So, I’ve taken to putting a small amount of seeds in a couple spots in the front yard during Ande’s last “outside” trip for the evening. The bunnies don’t disappoint.
How do I get such fantastic photos, you ask? I stick my cell phone up to the window.
I wanted to use the old word “prescission” here but I don’t think it would’ve been right. Anyone have any thoughts on the word?
Yup, every word in this sentence links to a different comic. You’re welcome.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times. It’s one of my foundational beliefs. While I like to work on polishing phrases, because writing is thinking, nothing is the final word.