The Rites of Writing...

I would assume there are plenty of writers that just zing words to a page with a marvelous simplicity that I could only dream of. There are others that I know who struggle at the grind of it with enduring forces I cannot fathom.

For me, it is all setting. Darkness, the lack of light is a must for me. And, that being stated, it cannot be indoor darkness that inspires me, it must be allowed the outside air. Daytime drags, the evening lingers, and by nightfall my mind has taken in far too much to allow anything new to be born. Nighttime is for reading, editing, and perusing ideas.

The morning, when most things are still sleeping, when the world is not yet awake and full of actions demanding my attention, that time between 4am and 8am, when the moon fades and the sun is coming, that is my time. Give me a candle, some background music, and the stars. An espresso or three, a maduro cigar to smolder, and the deadline of beating the light, that is my daily challenge.

In that time, nothing yet exists that I must be enslaved to, besides the silence that allows my waking mind to recall the places and feelings I dreamt of, whether I recall them or not. It is there that another world can be wandered, another time and place may be explored, and the unhindered adventures may come to life.

---JRJ