This Is My 30 Minutes!

Voice of the Blogger: Deborah
Mood: Contented
Music: Tree toads, again. And crickets.
Writing: This is it!

Hi All,

I just finished four articles for the publication, and have seven more to write tomorrow. A couple more interviews tomorrow, too. It's going to be a very long day.

I'm so bored with my articles. The people (interviewees) are interesting, the subjects are interesting (at least to me), but I'm so bored with my writing. The same words, same phrases, same ways of manipulating sentences so they aren't passive.

My editor says that keeping things fresh is the challenge of all writers who write regular beats, and who write to a deadline. Writing similar news items week after week, and writing to a timeline that normally doesn't allow much pondering of phrases or phrasing, can sap the writer and the writing.

Yup. That's where I'm at. (Sentence-ending prepositions be damned!)

I know one solution for me is to read other journalists' articles. My pub has three sister pubs (in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and SE Michigan), and usually when I start getting bored with my stuff I read the articles written by the other editors who have my job at those pubs.

Should have done that today, but didn't even think of it until now. Guess that's what I'm going to do first thing in the AM. I also guess that's what writing--blog or otherwise--does for me: helps me clear my head, focus my thoughts, and come up with something to write--which is usually the thing that's currently on my brain, the thought that needs de-fogging. You know, like being bored with my writing and deducing through writing that I need to read to get inspired.

So let that be a lesson to me! When I'm bored with my own writing, write! (Doesn't work for cooking, though.)

Well, it's 1 AM and my pillow is calling. Or maybe that's a tree toad...

*listening*

Nope. It's my pillow. Better go see what it wants. I bet it's something good.

D