Don't We All Have Writer's Block?

This is my first blog...ever. It seems that everybody and their brother has a blog, so why not me too? I'm starting this blog to make an effort to write everyday. You see, getting a book published ranks in the top five on my "bucket list." A good, compelling book at that. I would even put it out there that my dream is to have a best-seller, of course. But, the goal is to have a book period. This phantom book has been on my mind for a very long time. For the first time ever I'm attaching a timeline to this goal though. Let's say by 40. That gives me a tad more than 10 years to get this thing done. And this daily blog is going to be my way of getting back into writing. Yes, I said daily. That's a big commitment, I know. But, let me explain what I'm thinking.

For years I have thought about writing a book. I've concocted stories in my mind that either start off with promise and turn into blah, or sound suspiciously like something I already read or saw in a movie. My excuse for not starting this book has been 1. time and 2. writer's bock.

Time. Ahh, the mother of all excuses. Nobody has time for anything anymore. And I'm not being arrogant - it's unfortunately true. Between waking up at the crack of dawn to work out, getting yourself ready for the day, getting the kids ready for the day, working all day, running errands to the grocery store and the post office on your lunch break, picking up the kids on your way home, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, throwing in some laundry, giving the kids baths, reading the kids books, putting the kids to bed (sometimes over and over again), changing the laundry, folding the laundry, picking up the house, paying the bills, preparing your sack lunch for the next day, talking to your husband and having some brief quality couple time if you know what I mean (and by the way, this rarely happens) and finally hitting the sack early enough to get a few solid hours before starting the whole thing over again - who has time for anything? But, this book is my dream, so if I need to sacrifice 30 minutes out of my sleep cycle to blog - so be it!

Writer's block. The other convenient excuse. What have I done to overcome this one? Well, in the past I've read (or skimmed) many books on how to write a book. Stuff like "The Idiot's Guide to Publishing a Book" hoping for some tip that will propel me to John Grisham status. I don't know if that is even a book - but you get my point. The most ironic thing about this is excuse number one - hello, when did I find the time to read these books in the first place?? Anyhow, in my extensive "how-to" research I have come across two pieces of advice to aspiring authors that have stuck in my head. 1. Write about what you know - your life. Who the heck wants to read about my life? My life is more or less spelled out in that run-on of a sentence in the previous paragraph - hardly compelling. 2. Write everyday. Everyday. Which brings me back to this blog.

So this is my oath to myself and to my dream. I will update this blog daily with some sort of thought to get my brain started and my fingers typing. I just know the fabulous ideas will start flowing. Here's to ending writer's block...