Time to Write, by Cheryl Wilson

“Time” Original Oil by Cheryl Wilson

It���s the beginning of a new year, another rotation around the sun. It is a date on our calendars when a large portion of humanity vows to accomplish one dream or another, before we begin yet another rotation the following year. And no matter what your individual 2015 resolution is, each resolution has one main element in common, each will require���time.

For writers��� our resolution is generally vowing to do just that���write. When was the last time you felt you had time to write? If you are not a seasoned writer, or a very disciplined writer, and the last time I checked most of us artist types do not have the ���d��� word���discipline���flowing in steady streams through our DNA, then I���ve no doubt finding or making time to write, is tops on your list for this new year.

How often have you heard or said, ���If only I had more time to write���? I will now ask that you take a moment to ponder the quote below.

No I���m not going to go into a quantum physics lecture on the nature of time, but what I can do is give you the following observation.

Time���when sitting at my keyboard staring at a blank screen and willing words to pour out onto the page, time appears to have stopped while I hear the ever so slow tick, tock of an old clock ringing loudly in my head. However, when I���m on a roll, when the words just pour out of my fingers like manna from the heavens, time appears to go by way too fast, especially if I have only a set amount of time before leaving for the day job. So yes, time can be an illusion. Thus, for myself I have come up with the following equation regarding my time and writing.

Writing time equals���one second: one word, one sentence: one minute, one paragraph: one hour, one chapter or short story: one month. And if the muse strikes, perhaps, just perhaps���one great novel, or many: one lifetime lived. You see it���s all a matter of what particular illusion we place on the word���time.

And how lucky are we to have chosen this art form, where the constraints of time have no boundaries? We writers transport our readers from present, to past, to future with ease. We reinvent history, reshape current events and foresee the future all with the simple flow of ink from a pen, or the strike of a key on a keyboard. Who said time travel was not possible?

But it all begins with that first word, in the first second, and we all have at least one second to spare, don���t we?

Tagged: art, creativity, writers