Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Quote of the Week # 24

There is no nourishment like happiness - it's an elixir. There is no sickness like sorrow - it's a poison. The experience of true happiness cures the sickness of sorrow. A cheerful face goes a long way towards making everything better!

www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk

What Did I Want To Say Again?

Week Twenty-seven: Sunday 1 – Saturday 7 April

What a week. Radio workshop Monday - Wednesday; editing and production for the course's online writers website on Thursday. Lack of sleep due to a restless night-time daughter. It's all functional, and functioning, with a tired mind and trapped flow.

I find myself losing sight of what it is I wanted to write in the first place. No, not a 'script' or a 'novel' or a 'feature'; more what it is that I want to say. What's my message? Every writer writes because they have something they want to say. That can be morose, vacuous, manipulative, misleading, meaningless or any other negative connotation: but they all have something to say.

It helps, in my humble opinion, if what you want to say has the potential to contribute positively to the greater good by making people think, feel, engage, laugh, learn, change, improve, et cetera. But whatever it is you want to say as a writer, and for whatever reason, you need to know what it is.

At times you get so bunged up with commercialism, professionalism, competitivism; with angles, opportunities, trends, and with careers and money. You get so bunged up with all that that you forget what it is you want to say. You forget about the messages you want to impart, the lessons you've learned, the experiences you've had: the story you want to tell.

It doesn't take much to lose sight, to stop being focused, to be out of your zone; lack of sleep and a full-on week where you don't get any work you need to get done done, does it for me!

Easter weekend was a chance to reconnect. Lovely sunny weather, a trip to the beach with my wife and daughter to play and relax. A roast beef and potatoes dinner. Easter eggs and new story books for my daughter. It doesn't take much to remind me that, yeah we all need to make a living, yeah I have aspirations as a writer based on a strong desire to say something meaningful, my greatest achievement in life is the life I share with my wife and daughter.