Contemporary essays, fiction, and opinion offered regularly by author Anne Brandt.






Question for the week
Do all commands begin with verbs?
Ten minutes to
write.
Less time to
read.
What Can I Tell You
Posted: 05/01/06
There are times I want to discontinue my blog, shut down my web site, and regain anonymity. During these times, I chafe under the daily grind of writing in a public venue such as the Internet. Why bother, I wonder.

Well, the public commitment forces me to write even when I don't feel like it. And writers are notorious for lack of self-discipline. With the best of intentions, they still leave unfinished manuscripts, first drafts of outlines, and half-filled notebooks behind. I'm guilty of all the above.

When my heirs comb my possessions for pearls, they will find a plethora of oysters with nothing to show for the effort. I have old-fashioned file folders filled with manuscripts in various degrees of done-ness, all neatly alphabetized in my basement. I have even more manuscripts in the same degrees of done-ness all categorized on my computer. And I have a ton of intentions about getting back to these works and finishing them.

While I feel uninterested about writing my daily blog at times, the truth is I return to it like the famous Capistrano swallows. I'm coming up on the second anniversary of "Ten Minutes to Write, Less Time to Read" -- with over 500 entries and many readers -- and the longevity of it argues for its continuation.

At the same time, it's an albatross. Yet because writing for me is like breathing, I can't quit or I would wither. Possibly suffocate and die. While I don't always want to take up the yoke daily, I can't be far from it. It's the ying and yang of writing, and if you've never experienced it, I only hope you'll be sympathetic when I skip a day or two.


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