Practice Makes Perfect

I once had a creative writing professor who always swore up and down that the creative writing process was about more than writing a great story or poem. She stressed that it was about practicing your creativity on a daily basis. She claimed that doing so would allow you to generate writing ideas that you never would have otherwise.

As I look back, I remember how I abhorred her daily practice assignments. At the time they seemed tedious and wasteful - until now.

Last night, while driving home, I watched as the moon peeked through the clouds. Instantly a sentence describing the moon and it's relation to a part of my life popped into my head. At that moment, I realized that the sentence I had composed was what my professor was lecturing about. Creative writing isn't something that just happens for most. It is a masterpiece that is created with detailed thought and practice.

So, I share with you my practice session from last night. It was much easier to complete this task than it was when my professor assigned it ten years ago. I question why that is, but really am not certain that I want to know the answers.

ASSIGNMENT: Write three sentences (or groups of sentences) that describe a feeling you have or something that is inspiring to you. These sentences should be descriptive and help the reader formulate feelings about the topic or about an event in their life that relates to what you have written.

1. The shining silver of the crescent moon takes me back to the twinkle in your eyes.

2. You are a desert flower to these bloodshot eyes. The sunset has got nothing on you.

3. While staring at her reflection in the tranquil water, she became conscious of the fact that time had passed. Starting again might be harder than she had ever imagined.

"Writer's Block"

I have so much to say, but I can't.

I am blocked from pounding my feelings out on a keyboard, not because I don't have any feelings to share, but because it will hurt others.

I promised I wouldn't ever breathe a word, and it is a promise that I will keep,

But my heart is heavy with this somewhat forced "writer's block".