Mid-Stream Break – Writing 101 – Day 49

 

The goal was one thousand, six hundred and sixty-seven words a day. That is the NaNoWriMo challenge. I was keeping up, but I wasn’t that far behind. Then I had a week like last week. I wrote nearly nothing all week. So now, I am so far behind, that the chances of me catching up are nearly non-existent. Of course, that is sad.

On the other hand, this month of having a greater focus on writing has been a smashing success. I have written more and completed more than I ever thought possible. Actually, that isn’t true. I have always thought it possible, just never been able to actually accomplish it. So, completing this much counts as success.

The next step is to work on another short story for another anthology. I am nearly finished with the one I have been working on all month, one more polish. I have another one that is due by the end of next month. It is for the anthology published by my writer’s workshop, so I want to turn in something really spectacular. My problem is that the vast majority of my first drafts are usually written ahead of time in my head, and right now what I have is pretty weak. I have some vague ideas, but not the spark, the speck of dust that the cloud coalesces around.

It might be because there is so much else swirling about in the real world. Sometimes I have to shut out the real world to focus on the one I am writing about. Other times, by necessity it creeps in. Sometimes I just invite it with open arms. I have a couple of posts I want to write about that, but I don’t think they should be pushed into this one about writing. The real world is too real. It needs to be taken seriously. I should give it the respect it deserves.

The journey marches on, with or without me. I struggle away at writing my stories. I am getting better at it. I still wonder what the point is. I see life slipping by, day-by-day, and I wonder if this is how I should be spending my time. Probably not, but it is what I am good at, and what makes me feel like I have accomplished something. So I continue doing it, and I continue thinking of ways that I could improve the world, impact it somehow for the better. I tell myself that if I bring someone joy from my writing, that helps. I want to do so much more than that, however. I want to rescue them. Rescue them from the sadness and despair and hatred that this world is full of. I don’t know how to do that. Many days I can barely make myself function. I don’t know how to rescue you. I hope its enough that you know that there are people out here that care about you. When you hear the lies that are being yelled at you, from without and within, know that there is someone that wants to sit with you, in your truth, and just let you be you. You are seen and accepted.

Maybe that is all we need in the end. To be seen and accepted. Maybe that is all we need to do. We don’t have to change the whole world or overthrow the evil. We just have to stop and see people, and accept them, just as they are. Love so often is about change. It could be so much better. If we could only look at each other and say, “I love you. Just like you are. Even if you never change. Even if you get worse. I accept you and love you.” Maybe someday I will be able to say that. That may make all the difference. Just see and accept each other.