Unclogging Your Fountain

Unclogging Your Fountain

We’ve all been there, right? You know what I am talking about, those nights, those frustrating, lonely nights when you desperately want to write but notta, nothing, zip, zilch flows from your fingertips or the pen you are writing with is filled with invisible ink. I am reminded of the film, Throw Momma from the Train, starring Billy Crystal and Danny De Vito. There is a scene in the film where Billy Crystal plays a divorced writer/college professor who is trying to revive his career, but he has writer’s block, severe writer’s block. So, he takes a trip down to the beach with a bottle of alcohol to wash away the clog that is blocking his writing flow. He basically ends up getting drunk and still has his writer’s block, stuck with this unfinished opening sentence, “The night was…”

In fact, on this very night, I feel exactly like Billy Crystal’s character as I try to write about being a writer. Although, I’ll admit, I also have those awesome days when the fountain of words seems to flow deep and wide in a never ending stream. Those are the days when I feel that God is just pouring the words through my soul. He is, after all, my muse, my inspiration and I, I am his scribe. I pray continuously that He would use me, much in the way that he used his disciples when they wrote down His Word. This is my dream, my desire and my prayer because you see, I wouldn’t even be writing today if it were not with His blessing. Writing is just one of the many gifts that God bestows upon His people.

So, here I am, a writer, somewhat of a novice but at the same time, I have been writing for years, since the ripe age of 13 years old. I always wanted to be good at something and most of the time I felt that I wasn’t good at anything. I had a brother who was an excellent artist, a mother who seemed to be good at pretty much everything she did, and a father who was good at being a dad in every sense of the word. Then one day, it just happened. I was sitting in my high school English class waiting for the bell to ring and class to begin, when I just started writing. That was it; I was hooked on the written word and have been ever since.

Poetry seems to be my venue of choice to convey my thoughts and those thoughts that I believe are divinely inspired; however, essays, articles, short stories and possibly some day that novel are also on my to do list. I think, perhaps, the best thing for a writer to do, besides pray, is to not limit himself or herself in his or her writing. We all have our own ideas of what type of writing we feel we are good at, but that may not be the only type of writing we are good at.

Another pearl of wisdom to remember, is that you need share your work, even if it is just with your mother because there is no point to writing if it is not going to get read by someone.

What about journals? Well, that is something uniquely different because that is meant to be more of a form of therapy for your soul, for you; where an article, an essay, a story, a novel, a poem, are all things that are meant to be shared with someone else.

Finally, to bring another movie into the mix, I am reminded of the film, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. In this film, Whoopi Goldberg’s character is trying to get one her students to realize her dream and not to let it be crushed by her harsh surroundings. She quotes a book by a well-known author, stating that, “If you get up in the morning and you can think of nothing else then ….,” in this case it was singing, “then, you are a singer.” This goes for writers too. If you get up in the morning and can think of nothing else then writing, then you are a writer.”

I have tried to improve my writing over the years by learning all I can about the written word in school and then all through out my college career, which is still in motion at the present moment. However, in order to be a writer, you need to write, having all the knowledge about the written word in the world will not do any good if it isn’t put to good use. It can’t be one of those once in a blue moon type of deals.

Writing is a craft that has to be nurtured and cared for, and most of all, it needs support, which is why it is essential to find others like you to be around by joining a writer’s group. This was a step that was pretty hard for me to take because it meant putting “me” out there and sometimes getting back, oh that dreaded word, “criticism,” but I have to say that it is completely worth all the effort. Plus, as a bonus, when you have one of those frustrating, lonely nights and all you can think of is “The night was….,” you can toss that bottle of alcohol into the trash and call upon your fellow writers to lend a hand, which they will without fail, and you won’t wake up with that horrid headache in the morning. Now, some might ask for an honorable mention, but I promise you, you will be thanking them up and down for their help and you might even reward them by making them a character in that novel you are writing, just for getting you over the hump.

So, whatever your muse might be, whatever your inspiration, allow it to do its job and when it does, be ready with pen and paper, key board, monitor, disk and printer, or that trusty lap top that you carry around and just let the fountain flow.