Notes on Writing About Anything, Really

Sometimes I sit here, and this becomes a pretty cathartic exercise. I look forward to getting my thoughts out and experiencing the release that comes with that etc. etc. 

But other times, maybe even most of the time, the act of writing quickly becomes a dead end and it feels like a chore, and I feel like I'm pushing myself to do something out of obligation... to myself. And that ain't good, right?

But that's part of the exercise. Building up resistance to un-motivation and creating the callus needed to dull its impact. Ideally, over time, it becomes a habit or automatic and I actually need to do this so bad that it just happens as a matter of course. Then, I get it done. I'm able to write and write and write and soon enough, I'm writing enough and need it enough that it evolves into full-blown articles and essays and, dare I say it, something I've always kind of had the urge to create but never the willpower... a book. 

And then the book gets developed and it's awful but it EXISTS. And I learn from that and write another one that's perhaps a little better and another one after that. 

And after all that, perhaps I've cultivated a tiny little writing career out of what was previously a bowl full of regret and sadness. I committed to forming a habit that reversed decades of idleness and insecurity into something sustainable, something I can look back on and be proud of, rather than the mess of nothing career and sparse accomplishments I seem to be in now. 

I just need those calluses to form and to get over or past or beyond or around that formless barrier that prevents anything/everything from getting by, the one I've carefully and scrupulously constructed and maintained and strengthened over the years. 

The hope here (I guess) is to ultimately not need to overcome the laziness or bad excuses (landmines) I use to not get anything done and to actually be productive and good at something I know I can do. Right? 

Does that sound right? It sounds like word salad. And I'm sure that as soon as I re-read it, I'll be upset with how bad it really does sound. 

But back to this... I want to write about what's going on. I have feelings and thoughts and, dare I say it opinions on things that I'm not totally uninformed about, and I'd like to get those the hell on paper for a chance. Well, not paper, I guess, but at least onto the infernal screen.

Take this Congressional debacle thingy. No, seriously, just take it. FAR away. 

Overanalysis is definitely a thing, and when so-called analysts are analyzing the wrong things, it becomes a failed opportunity or something. I turned on CNN today and found exactly that. I usually enjoy the political back-and-forth and theater and the machinations of a dysfunctional Congress but today, I found it sad and depressing. No, worse. Boring. 

I know part of that is CNN's insipid minute-to-minute coverage. It's obnoxious. I seriously need to get out of the CNN zone. It's become sort of a habit over the last six years, given all the trumpian drama and horseshit scattered and splattered in its wake. I need to back away from the car accident and vapid, vacuous analyses of things not even wholly understood by those analyzing them. The "Analysts." They are terrible, no doubt. 

I could turn it to MSNBC, which is a little less melodramatic and conflict-driven (is it?). But I don't yet have the stomach for that channel. Why? I don't know. 

Twitter is a nightmare. Local TV news is always bad. Facebook is not a good place to get your news fix. Yet, these are all places that draw me back. Eventually. 

Time to go, for now. I'll be back. Tomorrow I plan on evening trying out a topic. Maybe. We'll see. 

Til Tomorrow