What was learned

"This is dedicated to . . . ."

So begins so very many books. The author starts the story by dedicating the whole shootin' match to someone who, usually has nothing to do with the story, but very often a great deal to do with its existence. Here is the first thing I learned. Well, it may have not been, in chronological order, the first thing I learned, but it is the first thing I want to mention. That is, the authors are telling the truth when they write the dedication. There is a writer out front, sure, but behind the writer is who knows who else and he, she, or they are sacrificing who knows what in order to leave the writer alone to write. I have seen it.

And before I am unfairly accused of presumption, let me clear something up. I am under no illusion about what I have done this month. It's a homemade blog that contains between 50 and 60 posts that run roughly 3-5 paragraphs apiece. It is no book. I know that. But I also know, and you cannot deny that I know, just exactly what it takes to crank out fifty-some-odd posts in 31 days and that is why I can say that anyone who takes on a book (a real, live book) is telling the truth when he says it would not have been possible without so-and-so. I have seen it.

Which leads directly to the next thing that was learned. It takes time. Lots of time. If a person intends to write, it is good if they can write for a living. In others words, it is good if they do not have to go to another job in order to pay the bills. As you can see, this is directly tied to the issue that has already been addressed. If one has a full-time job and then needs the evenings to work on the book, or the article, or the blog, well, it just wears on everybody. Be sure you have time.

And when you decide to give time to writing, guess what? You have taken time from something else. This has been covered above in relation to people in your life, but other things get ignored, too. I like to read, but you can't spend too much time on that if you mean to write. Cardinals baseball? Can't watch it very much. How about staying caught up on sports blogs, news blogs, and other info in my reader? Can't do it. I spend my evenings slaving over a hot keyboard.

It is work. Again, this draws on so much of what has already been said. Generating ideas gets hard after you have thought of all your ideas and you still need to write 12 more posts this week. So you pad Friday with pictures and you fill Tuesday with haiku. And if you think of something, how do you make sure it doesn't sound like something you wrote the other day. The mind and the fingers head to the familiar places. It is work.

I've learned that you have got to have people in your life who will give of themselves so you can write. It is work and you have to give up some good things you enjoy in order to write. As a writer friend told me years ago, "Stay in the hard chair." It's true.

I've also learned I still love it, even when it wears me out. I love it when a sentence sounds good. I love it when I've built a story that satisfies at the end. I love words.

And I love my wife, without whom this blog would not have been possible.