The fingers united can never be defeated by the stark white document template

Some folks spend lifetimes striving for that bit of Taoist perfection known as wu wei, or “without effort” – which is interesting in that the act itself of striving is counter-intuitive to the seeker’s path. Writing, for me, is usually accompanied by much wailing and gnashing of teeth. It’s not so much a struggle with vocabulary as it is with impetus. I do not believe that others care to listen to me.

And so I’d look for material that grabs people’s interest. But the truth seems to be that, much like situational comedy, the material matters less than the delivery itself. Pacing, voice, and wit. How does one work on those? Write. Write. Continue writing. How does the master comedian continue to be funny when playing off the crowd, or when his shtick runs out? I contend that he’s not trying to be funny – he just is.

I read so much Lovecraft that I could talk my way around a subject for three pages without once getting the reader to look AT IT. Not that I’ll say I had Howard’s particular je ne sais quoi. But working to develop your own voice – that’s another matter. Or is it? Because you’ve always had your own voice, and if you’ve ever been able to attract others to listen to your stories, if you’ve ever evoked an emotional response from another human being, then it’s not really hard work, is it? What about this subject matter? It’s dry, boring shit, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s not – I don’t give a fuck. But I’m OK writing it because I decided to just WRITE.

Popular thought indicates that writer’s block can be a chronic problem, brought on by depression and anxiety. No shit? It’s chronic in the same way that my body hurts when I wake up because I don’t exercise enough and have let my muscles atrophy. If I galvanize myself to action, by whatever motivation works for me, I effectively set foot on a path, beginning a journey. Where to? I’m not one to fret over the destination anymore. The beauty is in the motion.

The ancient Greeks treated the human form as godlike and believed a human perfected was beautiful, intelligent, and in touch with the gods (I’ll replace with “in touch with their inner being or spirituality”). Do I think that if I become Jim Jupiter that my writing will improve. Actually, I do.

So where’s this going? How will your investment of time pay off if you continue to read through to the end of this little stream of semi-consciousness? It won’t. There’s no moment of lucidity here – no revelations about breaking down any barriers. Could it be there ARE no revelations? And maybe the barriers that block us from true creativity are only constructs we place before ourselves because we fear our own excellence. And maybe I’m a Chinese jet pilot.