Running Out of Words

Most days I write until I run out words. That's how I know it's time to stop for the day. When this happens, I take a break for food or sleep or spending time with my husband. That usually does the trick and I can get working again..maybe not that day...but certainly the next.

Once in a while, though, I really run dry. I've gone to the well too many times...and there's nothing left. Frankly, this used to scare the shit of me. I would be convinced that I'd never write another word. The story would go untold....I was doomed.

Then I discovered the work of Julia Cameron, and I discovered Artist's Dates. What is an Artist's Date? It is, basically, a play-date with your Inner Artist. The most important thing is that it be fun, and that it you don't take anyone else with you. Julia recommends taking them weekly. I'm not that good about it. However, when I find that the well has run dry and I'm spending more time staring at a blank page than I am writing, more often than not, it's time to take my Inner Artist out to play.

Today, I did not try to work on the book. I woke up, drank coffee, took a shower, put on makeup (don't you always wear makeup on a date?) got dressed and asked her what she wanted to do. She wanted to play with fiber...yarn.

She wanted to pet the soft stuff, and look at all the pretty colors. These are the things that feed my Inner Artist. So that's what we did. We drove out to Eastside Weavers and talked to Pat about taking weaving lessons, and got to pet the yarn. Then we talked to her about dyeing some silk yarn I have and she showed me a bunch of hand painted (dyed) silk scarves, which she let me touch and drape around myself. We spent a good hour there.

Then we followed Pat's directions to the Lansingburgh Yarn Depot (which doesn't have a website), and spent two hours there looking at yarn, knitting and chatting with the owner, Barbara. We also showed Barbara a knitting technique that she's been curious about but never tried.

Then we came home.

We spun on our spinning wheel for and hour, and then, got the urge to post this.

Tonight there will be more knitting. I will not try to write fiction. I will let the well continue to fill and, maybe, tomorrow there will be more words to put down on the page, in order.

--Morgan