Ever since I was a kid there has been something that fascinated me about being a writer. Perhaps it was because of books I read by authors like John Steinbeck that moved me, or perhaps it was because putting words on paper seemed somewhat easy for me when it wasn't for others, or perhaps it was from watching the Dick Van Dyke Show and seeing how much fun Rob, Sally and Buddy had in the Writers' Room on the Allan Brady Show! For whatever reason, I have been a closet writer for a number of years (no...I don't write about or in closets) and have even sold a couple of items to magazines. I have come up with some great ideas for articles and even written "pitch letters", started short stories, written some kid's stories that got my own kids' seal of approval when they were young, thought about book plots, and even committed some actual words to paper. I started on a Royal Portable typewriter in the last century, moved on to a huge IBM desk top computer and dot matrix printer, and now am on a small laptop. Through the years I've had bursts of activity and turned out the beginnings of some things that seemed to me to be going in the right direction. So why haven't I done more? If I had to be honest, I'd say it's because I'm just not committed enough to turn the idea into reality!
In reading books by authors about the craft of writing you read over and over again about how you must treat it has a job. You must be committed to spending time at your craft. You need to set aside time every day to write. You must write every day! I even saved the following quote in my Kindle from Sue Grafton's novel, U is for Undertow, "Writing's hard. It's a skill you attain by practicing. You don't just dash off good work in your off hours. You can't be halfhearted. It takes time. You want to be a concert pianist, you don't slog your way through Five Easy Pieces and expect to be booked in Carnegie Hall. You have to sit down and write. As much as you can. Everyday of your life."
So there's the rub as they say. Am I committed enough make the transition from thinking about doing it to really doing it? As I've said, I have always written to some extent. Bless the love of my life, my wife Susie, she is my biggest cheerleader and has always told me I am a writer (and volunteered the information to whoever would listen). So the encouragement is there. Through the years lots of folks have taken advantage of whatever ability I have with the written word and have asked me to "ghost write" speeches, college application essays, complaint letters, job resumes, newspaper articles, and even award nominations and recommendation letters. I've had friends say to me, "Can you help me with this...you're the writer", so there are others beyond my loving wife who admit I have some ability to string written words together. So we come back to the word commitment. Am I willing to make the commitment to spend some time on a consistent basis and work at this?
That's where this blog comes into play. A germ of an idea started running around my brain when I found a blog of a favorite writer of mine a couple of months ago. He's the kind of writer I love to read. One who fills his work with believable stories of people you care about. They are not great novels in the Steinbeck, Hemingway or Fitzgerald style, but rather short stories of real people and of important, funny or interesting events in their lives. His name is Ed Lowe and for many years he was a columnist for Long Island's Newsday. I was a faithful reader and even went so far as to write a letter to Mr. Lowe on a column that particularly moved me back in 1986 shortly after our twins Kenny and Krissi were born. I'd missed his work and was happy to find a new way to connect with him and his stories (if you are not familiar with Mr. Lowe's work or if you are and you too would like to re-connect with him, I suggest you check out his blog, Ed Lowe, Himself at http://edlowehimself@blogger.com).
Anyway, I am reading Mr. Lowes' blog entries and I am loving it! Rather than having to wait hours or days or weeks for the next installment, here I had a compendium of his writing. Much like having the entire series of an author's novels on hand so you can end one and start the next, I can finish one column and start the next (Mr. Lowe is at a very interesting place in his life and along with the stories of others, you also get a very good look at what he is going through. Rather than even attempt to share that with you, I suggest you sit back and let him take you along with him. He will do it with much more humor and insight than I could ever provide.). So while I am in the middle of becoming reacquainted with Ed Lowe and his work, an idea hits me...why don't I get one of these blogs and see if I can find the commitment to write something on a regular basis?
That's where I am now. I started this back in July when we were on vacation in Ocean City, NJ. A topic would hit me or something would happen that inspired me and I'd write an essay (I guess that's what you'd call it...my ego isn't so large that I could call it a column). As you can see from the history of my blog, this has been, at best, a random and occasional endeavor on my part. Back to that word commitment. I guess the point of this particular entry in my blog is an agreement between me and well, me to try and do this on a more regular basis. If I am successful at that I guess the next step will be to see if I can get someone other than Susie to read this. Perhaps I'll be one of those folks who share things with "friends" via Facebook (hey...if you can hear about someone getting a new pink pig or fertilizing their Farmville crops, you can put up with my sharing too). Perhaps if I have the feeling that I have responsibility to others I will find the commitment I need to do this on a regular basis. Perhaps I am just blowing smoke and nothing will change...time will tell!
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