Embracing Chaos

I am an absolute control freak. I need things just so in order to function properly. There are times when I let my control issues keep me from writing. Seemingly simple things will throw me off. Like if the desk isn’t as clean as I’d like, the curor is blinking too fast - almost mocking, or the dictionary is sitting on top of the thesaurus. When clearly the thesaurus should be on top because it’s smaller; That’s just how the universe meant things to be.

There are other things, outside of the harmony of my writing space, that keep me from writing. Conflict in my life, from a bad day at work to a nasty note from the mailman about where I park my car, can throw my whole writing mood askew. I’ve been fostering a Daschund for the past month, and today his adoptive parents took him home. He is a very special dog that will make an excellent addition to their family. I’m heartbroken that he’s gone, but I know he will be well taken care of.

So, today as I let myself shed a tear or twenty over this precious dog leaving, I realized that real life and emotions are what make writing great. It’s not about everything being perfect. How boring would that book be? If I embrace the chaos, harness it’s power, it will just enhance my writing rather than hurt. I must get over my need for everything to be just so and write through the irritation, anger, or tears.

I’m curious if there are things that keep you from writing? And, if so, what do you do about it?