Rhythm

The Bear Claw is gone.  The coffee — dark roast — grows cold.  And I sit here writing this blog entry ‘cause I just can’t bring myself to open Final Draft and load my current script.  Writer’s Block, you may ask?  Nope.  Just don’t feel like writing.  But I will.

I think the problem stems from my day job.  Really.  At my previous employer — before my current job some 30 months ago — I would get to work around 6:00 am; work through lunch or eat at my desk; then head for the bookstore around 2:30pm.  Once at the bookstore I would write my screenplay in longhand on yellow legal pads for an hour each afternoon, then transcribe that gibberish to my computer on the weekends.  I had rhythm.

Now, I get up at 4:00am; leave for work around 4:20am; arrive on the job at 5:30am (yes, that is correct.  A 75 mile commute one way — 70 minutes drive time); work through lunch or eat at my desk; early afternoon meetings and/or conference calls; leave for home around 3:00pm; and, depending on traffic, arrive home around 4:30pm.  No more bookstore.  No more rhythm.

But, on weekends I have plenty of time to write.  I arrive at my local Panera Bread when they open — 6:30am on Saturday; 7:30am on Sunday — and work until 11:30am.  This gives me nine hours of ‘alone time’, time to write each weekend.  My lovely bride is most generous and understanding about this and I really, really appreciate that generosity and understanding.  The problem is, when I first sit down to write, I don’t feel the rhythm.  I’m unsure where to start — how to start.  It feels like the first time each and every Saturday and Sunday morning.  But, after finishing my pastry, after my first cup of Joe, after checking the ball scores — the Cleveland Indians are having another crap year — I get down to brass tacks and write.

Which is where I am now.  Thanks for listening.  I’m ready.  Ready to feel the rhythm.  Ready to

Keep Writing!