Write it down

1/20/10 Year's worth of Writer's Digest magazine, recycled

One of the unexpected joys of the Downsizing Challenge has not been getting rid of stuff -- frankly, that's often a drag -- but the daily challenge of writing a mini-essay. From the youngest age, I've always had a perception of myself as a Writer, and this blog has become another vehicle for experimentation and learning in that area.

I've got a number of projects in the pipeline, including a young-adult realistic fiction novel, a children's picture book on which I'm collaborating with my friend Chris, and a great concept for a graphic novel about a team of super-villains. Alas, it was hard enough to find regular time for writing before the birth of my son. Now? Well, it's not looking good for leisurely hours of pleasure writing.

This afternoon, as I tried to calm Chase by rocking him as I carried him around the house, my collection of Writer's Digest magazines in the basement caught my eye. (Yes, I'd carried the kid all the way down to the basement... I was desperate.)

I had a one-year subscription to Writer's Digest not long ago, and I dutifully kept all of the issues since they contain great ideas and reference points. My intention was to save them for future use, stockpiling them for the time when I would use them to hone my writing craft.

Okay, so that's pretty much not going to happen until my kid is about...

...thirty-five years old.

The Writer's Digests have been tossed into the recycling bin.

But not my great writing ideas! They shall continue to age in my mind like fine wine... for a looooooooong time.