Heptadecagon

What's the old saying? One step forward, two steps back? I feel as though with writing, that's exactly what I do. I find a place to publish something of mine, and then a slew of rejections settle in. I decide to follow the self-publishing route, and then doubt sets in. I decide to contact an editor to look at my work because I think I'm ready to move forward and not give up the writing life, and then, I fall back into thinking that Nah, I'll just stick with teaching, thank you. But on a sunny Sunday afternoon, when the rays of the sun sluice between the blinds and the words flow quickly, tumbling from my fingers in a scurried frenzy, it's easy to think that yes, maybe someday will become  reality . It's easy to convince myself that sure, many people can write a book. Yet not everyone will continue to work at writing such that they see a book all the way to the end, whatever end that may be. In my younger days, I might have given up on this dream. But I...

Last year I spoke about clarity , a word that can mean different things to different people. It's imperative to write with clarity so that you're understood. But in another sense, clarity means having peace of mind and body. Many days exist where I struggle to find that clarity, and usually, something or someone helps me recapture it. I think perhaps my problem right now is finding that elusive clarity such that my mind is open to writing again. I'm not talking about having a block, per se. I can write if I sit down and do it. But do I want to write? Not so much. (Although I had a fantastic time with the most recent Dear Student letter.) And what I fear is that if I give up writing in this forum, it will be too easy to never go back. Plus, I'm continually amazed at what comes out of my head sometimes. So here's what I propose for a little while: I'm going to post a picture (my own or that of others) each day or maybe every other day or maybe it'll be ...