Closing out the month escorting my oldest son to a student film festival where he and classmates submitted the work done in the school's film club. It's inspiring to see young people create like this. There's a break until the awards ceremony at 4:30, so while he works on a new film with some friends, I'm at a McD's across the street where I just sat and wrote a 1,300 word reflection on the experience. I haven't known what to write in a while and, if I'm honest, haven't had a regular practice of sitting and writing. Earlier this week I committed to a practice of sitting to write for 20 minutes. The consistency has made a world of difference! Looking forward to continuing that into the new month.

The door clicks shut. A jiggle of the handle to ensure it is closed. Steps disappear around the corner. Everyone is gone. We can finally breathe. It’s just a few hours of the day, but it feels like an eternity. So many sights and sounds and smells. Oh, the smells! If they’d just “keep the dogs covered,” like the oldest one says. How many times does he have to say it? Come to think of it, why does he even have to say it? Not that anyone can hear it. Not that anyone can hear anything! It’s surprising how loud such little ones can be. There’s a constant buzz of noise. Nothing specific - just noise. Twenty different conversations all melting into a jumble of words. Or numbers. “6-7! 6-7!” There’s no one left, but the sound still stays. A paper ball falls from the table where a game of table hockey just finished. The rush of the purifier in the corner clicks off with a sudden shriek as the timer runs out. How long until I’m still? Breathe… In… Out… In… Out… There it is. Stillness. A few moments of peace, at least until the janitor comes in to clear the trash and straighten the chairs. It’s a quick visit, but enough to ruin the peace. But then, once he’s gone, a blissful few hours until we do it all over again.

Writing may look simple from the outside, but it is layered. Drafting, revising, tightening, and strengthening your voice is a craft that keeps evolving. The more I write and edit, the more I see that growth happens during revision. That is where good writing becomes strong writing. Which stage of writing challenges you the most drafting or revising and why?

You open your draft. Read the first page. Suddenly it feels terrible, you delete a paragraph, rewrite the same sentence five times, close the document, you tell yourself you’ll fix it tomorrow. How many “almost finished” books do you have right now?

"Read when you don't know what to write. Write when you don't know what to read." I don't remember where I read/heard that, but it's been comforting advice the past few months as I've hit a major writing slump. The good news is I've read more in a 6 month period than I think I've ever done before. However, it is frustrating that I still can't seem to put words to paper. I know it will turn around soon. Joining this community has been a comfort. Looking forward to all of your next posts and looking forward to sharing some of mine soon.