WHAT AM I …?

One of the places … Where the Muses Sing.

Yesterday, I made a promise to myself and I plan to keep it.  

Note, I left our the words, “try,” or “attempt.”

See, I’m working on building up a few new habits. One of them will be to write for 20 minutes every day. Assignment or not.

How I write and what I write is inconsequential. Not that it isn’t important to me that I write something worthwhile.  But I’m not going to judge what worthwhile means.

That’s primarily because I’m writing to strengthen my writing skills. To return my muscles to a place from which, I feel, they’ve drifted quite some distance.

And please don’t think I’m some sort of OCD perfectionist.  

No.  It’s just that within me there is a place of emotional satisfaction I try to reach with every creative thing I do.  My acting, teaching, public speaking, cartooning … it covers all like a favored blanket or sweater.

It is the same with writing.

My mind will think about writing a particular piece for days. Eventually I’ll sit and I’ll write something new, or I’ll dabble with a project that I have been “working on” for several months.  Or it might even be something that I put aside years ago.

But I’m not really writing it. It’s more like once again I’ve found some pieces of a puzzle … and thrown them into the box … but I’m not really trying to put them together.

And that’s partially because I’ve let so many other things get in the way of the writing almost every single day.

Yes, I do think of myself as a writer. Yet I don’t think of myself as the type who really feels compelled to grab pen and paper and chronicle adventures, or my daily experiences, or even to solve all of humanity’s social ills with words of heartfelt literary eloquence.

What I do believe is that I am a storyteller. I tell stories via writing. Sometimes I tell stories through cartoons that I’ve drawn. I tell stories by characters I’ve played on stage, or in film, or audio productions. I have an eclectic past.

Mostly though — since childhood — I’ve simply told stories with my voice. I sit with people and I tell stories riotously, quietly, seriously — take your pick.

So I am truly a storyteller, and sometimes I like to write them down. My plan is to write them more often, and with various tools and means.

Feel free to hold me to it.  let’s support each other.   

Tell me what creative challenge you face and how you face it.

That’s all.  So go forth and be brilliant.

— Alex Simmons, 9/18/17 —