It’s the place, in my experience most likely some sort of file
or desktop folder, where writers keep stories they’ve decided to save for a
slow news day.
I toiled seven years in print journalism, and there were a
lot of days I just didn’t want to write or wondered whether there would be
enough words to write to fill the paper.
One of the things I learned early in my journalism career was
if I would like to receive a paycheck, the paper must be filled.
My bosses never liked my suggestion we fill it with
crossword puzzles so the can saved my butt more than once.
I feel like now is a good time to tell you I have no idea where I’m going with this, and the time it takes you to read these words will be time you’ll never get back.
I quit.
For a pretty good while last Thursday night, those two words were the only ones on the computer screen in front of me.
I’d even joked about a plan to simply leave this column blank except the above words and ride off into the proverbial sunset. (more…)
Somebody once said letter writing is a lost art.
That’s probably true, considering most of the written communication we see nowadays is on some sort of screen.
I read an article on the Internet — which kind of proves my above point — about someone who had the idea to craft responses to text messages in calligraphy, snap photos of the paper with a phone camera and send the pictures as replies.
The web went wild, as if seeing whole words written out instead of abbreviated brought about a wave of nostalgia it wasn’t sure it could handle.
It made me LOL.
Each time I get writer’s block, which is often, I look for writing prompts to make the light bulb come on.
It’s generally a good bet no matter which list of prompts I read, the question of why I write — or some variation of it — will be included.
So I decided to answer it. (more…)
