With writers there is a question, always of “Writers’
Block.” Everyone knows about that. But there’s another, related, question: What does the writer write about? In order to write, a writer has to first
experience—unless s/he’s going to simply write about the inability to write.
I admit it: I’ve
just been busy these last few months.
For some reason, starting in April, everything seemed to be happening
for me all at once: My day job, the
writing club, my family—one thing after another.
What I can’t quite figure out, looking back, is how
I ever managed things ten years ago. At
that point, I was facilitating four different groups: South Bay Writers, Amnesty International
Group 35, the South Bay Poly discussion group, and South Bay Circles (the local
pagan ritual group). How on earth did I
ever manage to come up with agendas, recruit people to help out, and simply
stay sane with all that activity? I can
remember earlier times when I also served on Unitarian church committees in
Virginia or here in California; when I helped out with CUUPS (the Covenant of
Unitarian Universalist Pagans), when I was a regional coordinator for Amnesty. How did I ever sort everything out? And I continue to be a legal minister/priest
for the Covenant of the Goddess (although I’m not responsible for facilitating
any meetings).
At this point I’m down to running the poly group—which
involves just one meeting a month—and South Bay Writers. But in two days—on July 1st—my term
as president of South Bay Writers ends.
And presumably I will have more time to…write?
But my point is, a writer shouldn’t really just sit
around writing. A writer should be doing
something worth writing about. A writer
ought to be involved. True, a writer can
sit by her/himself all the time and write about the world around him/her—but is
that interesting enough to be worthwhile?
I’m glad I’ve been involved in social groups. I’m also glad to be reaching the point where
I don’t feel obligated to run them all myself.
I’m looking forward to thinking a little more about…my writing.
