Life in progress

Just Jot It January 23rd – Odd/Even #SoCS

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It’s odd that even though I love to write, sometimes it seems such a chore. I think back to a video* I watched again just recently of John Cleese, standing in front of an audience, talking about creativity. He stresses the importance of needing to be free of stress (haha. my bad) in order to be creative. He says that we have to be able to play – to play with ideas at least – and that means not being bogged down by the multitude of things we MUST do. Because let’s face it, as adults play is often at the bottom of our list of things to do.

Like just now, a perfect example: I was happily writing away when I heard a noise from the kitchen. The puppy was chewing on the table. Being a responsible adult who doesn’t want teeth marks in my table, I had to get up and leave my writing. It never ends!

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Winston

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…the constantly wiggly

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…unless he’s sleeping

So Mr. Cleese, quite rightly suggests that there must me a time and a place to be creative. Only I rarely get it. And that really cuts into my enjoyment of writing.

So I come back to the beginning, don’t I? It’s not really odd.

And then even when I do get a moment to myself, and a space to myself, according to Mr. Cleese (and my own experience) it takes time to wind down. Speaking of wind, the dog just farted. For a small pup he can cause a big stink! Where was I? Oh yeah. Getting in the mood. There are times that I’m in the mood to write even when I’m stressed. An idea will pop into my head, or just a mood will overcome me and I can’t not write.

Being a writer is such a strange thing!

The “odd/even” prompt is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click here to join in, and leave your link for everyone to see!

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JJJ 2016

To find the rules for Just Jot It January, click here. Join in today! It’s never too late! And don’t forget to ping back your January 23rd post here at this post.

Note: If you combine SoCS and JusJoJan in one post, make sure you ping back to both this post and the Friday Reminder post.

*Google “John Cleese on creativity” to find it on Youtube.

Author: Linda G. Hill

There's a writer in here, clawing her way out.

61 thoughts on “Just Jot It January 23rd – Odd/Even #SoCS

  1. Hi I think you are lovely so I have nominated you for the ‘Lovely Blogger award’ (if you do not wish to accept ,please take it as a compliment to your work. https://daisywillows.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/thank-you-for-making-me-smile/

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    • Thanks so much, Daisy. 🙂 I haven’t managed to get around to my nominations in the last (mumblemumble) years, so chances are I won’t have time to accept this one either. But I SO appreciate you thinking of me!! Cheers!

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  2. Thank you for the John Cleese You Tube suggestion , loved it 🙂
    And now I don’t remember how I came landing on your blog , but I am oh so glad I did 😉
    Turtle Hugs

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  8. I just recently saw that John Cleese video, too and loved it! Here’s hoping 2016 brings you plenty of ‘creative space’ opportunities! 🙂

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  11. Your dog made me laugh and awwwww at the same time. :-). Wishing you a quiet spot to wind down and write 🙂

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  15. I always feel this way in the morning. The phone is pinging, the dog needs to go out, everyone’s hungry, my nose is running, I have to pee. I just wanna SIT and STARE and DRINK my coffee! lol

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  17. Dogs (and cats) are great for helping us play, even when they’re old like mine and just want to be rubbed. They help me find stress free moments, but who can be stress free on a regular basis? We need some stress to motivate us and, sometimes, to give us something to write about. Balance is the key.

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  19. Ah, I disagree with him. A good author must write -despite interruptions. A good author must also be interrupted because our families (pets included) must be more important.
    http://www.fiddledeedeebooks.wordpress.com

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  20. It sounds like one of the rules should also be “don’t have dogs” lol.

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  22. One ofthe coolest things about unschooling is that our whole LIFE is centered around playful engagement with the world in all kinds of ways…and that’s not just for the kids, but also for their parents, too!

    May you find a space and time to play!

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  25. Sometimes Life just interferes with creativity. Fun post. ☺

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  26. What would we do without the interruptions? Be bored, I guess. At least it keeps us from getting “fanny fatigue.” 😉

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  27. Having a puppy is very distracting, especially when they chew your table legs! He does look adorable though!

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  28. Stressing about being creative creates even more stress, I reckon. Awful little cycle. So glad you SOC prompt help lift us out:)

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  30. Writing is indeed a strange phenomenon…..

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  31. Oh the stresses of being grown up! I really do agree… Mr Cleese has more money and less commitments!

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  33. My cat who is distracting me to no end by reading over my shoulder did not enjoy this post talking about your puppy at all. I did though and can completely relate. 🙂

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  34. Hahaha Winston is adorable,and farting is what dogs do best,xx Rachel

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  35. Farting dog? That’s funny. Your dog is Cute! 🙂

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