“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
– Jack London
Hi Writers:
Don’t wait another minute.
Don’t wait for your life to be perfect. Don’t wait for the dog to get well or until you reach the ideal weight of 120 pounds (notwithstanding the fact that the hypnosis tape says that 120 pounds is your ideal weight). Don’t wait for someone, anyone (the grocer or your dead Father) to tell you it’s okay. Don’t wait for a guarantee. Don’t wait for world peace. Don’t wait for your husband to start getting along with his boss or for your children (or any foreign countries) to start getting along with each other. Don’t wait until you know it is safe and that you will not fail. Don’t wait for the stars to come out. Don’t wait until you live in the right house or the right town. Don’t wait for your medicines to start working. Don’t wait until you find the perfect schedule. Don’t wait until your favorite bra goes on sale. And, don’t, whatever you do, don’t wait until Christmas.
Don’t wait until everyone you might write about is dead and therefore will not sue you. Don’t wait until you have cleaned off your desk. Don’t wait for a sign from the gods. Don’t wait until you have time or the perfect pen or a different, better desk than the different, better desk you got last time you waited until you got a different, better desk.
Don’t wait for anyone to give you permission or even a kind word. Don’t wait to find the perfect formula or a great topic or the right coffeehouse. Don’t wait until the room gets quiet (that’s why they invented earplugs). Don’t wait for your old boss to die. Don’t wait until you have an MFA. Don’t wait until you find shoes that match your new purse. Don’t wait for the sun to shine (after all, you live in Ohio). Don’t wait to find the perfect chair or the perfect breath mint. Don’t wait for your older brother to say he’s sorry for all the things he did to you as a child (turn him into a character). Don’t wait for time to pass or until you figure out the perfect plot, characters, idea, scene. Don’t wait until you are old and can say what you want. Don’t wait for snow or for the tiny trees in your yard to grow tall. Don’t wait until the time is right because you know it never is. Don’t wait for the muse or even until after you’ve eaten all the whipped cream off your decaf soy _mocha. Don’t wait for the barrista to ask you what you’re working on.
Don’t wait another minute. Just write.
Nita(where’d I put my club)Sweeney
(c) 2004 by Nita Sweeney
