Day off, I guess.

I don't plan to take days off. It just happens that way. I'm a writer, self-employed. Every single day I get up with the idea of working on my main project. On days like today those plans don't pan out, but it's a holiday, so I suppose nature just meant it like that. This seems to happen consistently about one, sometimes two days a week. In other words, I get a day off whether I want it or not.

I have taken up to three weeks, though without such a day off. The work doesn't only include writing. I do a lot of reading. For my writer's group, I always have to read and critique somebody's work. I'd give anything to have a 1200 wpm reading speed or better, but reading does help you as a writer. Then there's studying the finer points of grammar and style mechanics.

You then have to practice. This blog would be considered practice. I find that issues I want to write about the most simply tie me in knots. My writing about my family life turned into heap, and it's taking a lot of work to unsnarl. I want to take on some more pertinent and controversial issues. However, it seems that I still respond to other people's posts far better than I can generate my own blog entries. I do this here and here. Why don't I just link them in my blog? Because by the time I get around to writing my blog, I'm trying to think of my own issues to write about, and often I respond to posts spontaneously; those are the distractions. I'm afraid if I do, the blog becomes incoherent.

It was very nice together for New Year's. My reading seemed acceptable. There were only about nine people there, a very brief reading compared to others the group has had, which was good because it left the rest of the time for partying. One guy knew about four verses of Auld Lang Syne. Which was good because nobody thought of any other way to hail the new year when it came about.

I remember as a child looking at how long the years were and thinking that living until the year 2000 would be virtual immortality. I'm fortunate.