Writing (Reverb10, Day Two)

Day Two: Writing
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

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I do a lot of things, daily, that don’t directly contribute to my writing. I drink coffee, watch TV online, read other people’s blogs in my GoogleReader, stalk my favorite news sites, and I coach dance team. When I’m doing those things, I’m not writing.

Except, I am. I eavesdrop on a conversation in a restaurant and write a blog post in my head about how tragic-comic the couple in question is. I have composed in my head, but never posted, the many dramas that threaten to overtake my teenage dancers’ lives and in turn, all of our practices. Then I weed out the good ideas from the bad, and sit down to pound the good ones into blog entries.

Personally, I find inspiration in seemingly random happenings, stories, facts that can be strung together to make a bigger point. When I write, it's probably based on an idea I've been working out in my head for a few days or more (except my desperate posts on how much I love coffee. Those are always spontaneous). I’m not sure that cutting anything out would be beneficial to my writing, although I am working to cut out crap I don’t need in order to better serve my own well-being.