My Big Blank White Marker Board Brain

Writing is a trip. I mean REALLY! I launched a personal blog: ww.PatriciaMeyers.com and it knocked the wind out of me. Truly, no wind left in my sails.

I could not make a decision about the theme. Then the header. Then the voice. Then the purpose. Then the posting schedule.

Then … WHAT TO POST?

Have you ever seen a really, really big white marker board? Well, that was my brain the past few weeks. Large and white and blank and shiny (well, it wasn’t really shiny).

I prayed.

I chewed on idea after idea after idea.

I sat and stared at a wall and thought.

I prayed some more.

The result? A bigger, whiter, blanker marker board. With no markers. Only erasers.

Then we went away on our Paddle Creek Writer’s Group Fall Retreat this past weekend. I brought my new journal I just received as a birthday gift, my computer, and a pen. And a goal: I was not leaving without some enlightenment.

And I got it. I totally got it. Ideas, plans, a calendar partially filled in, and more ideas.

It works for me every time – think, stew, chew, pray, think, read, research, pray, study, think, drive myself crazy. Then… POOF! As if by magic, a plan unfolds.

It is, of course, not magic. It is the result of hours of seemingly fruitless work and the wisdom to set aside some time for nothing else except writing (and Monopoly Deal). There is always Monopoly Deal. You can click here to read more about that problem.

Now I feel like I have traction. Excitement surges through my veins again.

I missed it. And I welcome it back.

Do you have a secret magical potion that helps you when you are stuck, or blank, or dead in the water?

Oh, speaking of water. We went to a resort on a little lake in Illinois. This is the sign near our hotel room. We found it humorous. We heeded its advice.

We’re stinkin brilliant, aren’t we?

Patricia Meyers
www.PatriciaMeyers.com

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