Back in the Saddle

As cliche as the title of this post most certainly is, it is the best way to describe my current state of mind. After months of frustration, I have started writing (and submitting) again.

It's rather depressing when I stop to think about the fact that it has been almost three years since I have written a new poem. The last time I was struck by the muse was when I was working on my Master's thesis in the fall of 2005. It's not for lack of trying, but for some reason the words just haven't come as easily as they used to. Perhaps it's because my self-diagnosed OCD has gotten worse since then, and now I labor over every word, whereas I used to write with a sort of reckless abandon. Maybe that's a sign of growth as a writer, or maybe I've just been so out of practice that I need to learn to trust my instincts once again. In some ways, I miss the inexperienced writer I once was.

It's not that I haven't been writing at all. I have been working on a novel for quite some time, but that has come to a standstill. Call it writer's block, call it laziness, call it lack of inspiration... the fact is that I just can't seem to get motivated to finish the damn thing.

So, as an antidote to my frustrations, I have started writing shorter pieces -- travel essays and articles, creative nonfiction, etc. At least I feel productive now when I can actually finish something (as "finished" as any writer's work ever is); the only problem is that my ADD (again, self-diagnosed) means that I am having a hard time focusing on one piece at a time, so I've got several on the go. But I've been trying to rediscover the poet in me in all of these forms of writing, and maybe, as a result, the muse will return and I'll be able to crank out another few poems or another chapter that I can be proud of. I've also started digging out some old poems and am submitting them to various literary magazines and journals. Hopefully, some publications (or rejections, more likely) will inspire me to keep going and start writing some new pieces.

My goal is to get as much writing done as possible in the next couple of months, when I will probably be taking a bit of a hiatus in order to focus on the fruits of another type of labor (more on that to come).

Until then, stay tuned...