Finding that old spark

Maybe not everybody will agree with me, but I think that writing is a lot of fun. I have always enjoyed writing, since I was just a little kid. In elementary school, we were encouraged to write our own short stories. Each teacher chose the best story from their class, and at the end of the year, the school brought in a troop of actors who acted out the winning stories for the entire school. I, of course, did not write a short story. I wrote a full length chapter book. If you have been reading my blogs, then you might think I did this because of my competitive, perfectionist nature. Sure, that might have been part of it, but the real reason I wrote that chapter book was because I had so much fun writing it. And in case you were wondering, I got to sit up on a makeshift Director's chair and watch the actors condense my book into a ten minute show. I knew at that moment that I wanted to always be a writer. I am lucky that I went into a field that requires so much writing. Sure, I probably won't win any awards with my dissertation or get to see a theatrical version of Homo erectus making a handaxe and then saying her first words to her own surprise and delight, but I still want to find that spark again as I write my dissertation, that oh so satisfying feeling when I find just the right way to express my thought process. I think it's possible for any of us to feel this way. It's all in your mindset. 

While I think the morning chats we have each day about writing are useful, they tend to focus on negativity towards writing, at least in my opinion. Almost like a parasite, the negativity has been burrowing into my brain, and yes, I have been thinking just like everyone else, I assume, how daunting this task is, how frustrating it is, and how I would rather be doing something else. But writing should not be a chore. It should be fun and exciting, something you can't wait to get back to. It's almost like you have this secret that is all your own, and you are preparing for the big unveiling. And when it's all said and done? You're going to knock their socks off. That's right. Just imagine your committee members reading through your dissertation, and they are so impressed that their socks literally fly right off their feet.

Now I'm really excited to get back to writing tomorrow morning. How about you?