Sandy Supposes....

Writing is like riding a bike...

PROMPT: The Wildcard Round! It's often said that writers need to write every day to become better at it... do you think that's true? Have you ever taken a significant amount of time off from your writing pursuits? What was your experience like in getting back into a pattern or habit of writing more consistently? And if you've yet to experience this sort of vacation from writing, please do tell us how you plan on picking up exactly where you left off, as if you never stopped.

          There are so many things pulling and pushing us in so many directions each and every day. When you toss in an emergency, or any new event, there's no such thing as routine, or normalcy. There's only so much we can do to cope. Even priorities vie for positioning in our busy lives. Writing sometimes falls on that sliding scale. No, I don't believe that writing must be carried out daily. The skills, the observations, and the need to write do not suffer if they are temporarily ignored. Maybe it's like riding a bicycle, when you need to you rise to the occasion. You recall how to breathe, pedal/pump, steer, and maintain your balance. The ability to write is always waiting though it gathers some dust and a few cobwebs.

         As a child, it seemed as if I was always scribbling. Part of it was because I was a conscientious student and I had to for school assignments. Part of it arose from my desire to create. Part of it evolved from letters I mailed to relatives. When I first dove into that bottomless well of motherhood, I floundered with a journal. Nope, the pages were most definitely not filled every day. Practicality met desire, and knocked it out. An infant manages to become the centre of its universe, and everything else is secondary.

         I barely had time to inhale never mind relax. Writing faded to a fond memory. Huh, then I upped this 'insanity' and added two more to the whirlwind. Three kids in four years left little time for frivolities. Oh, I jotted down some particularly cute, or amusing incidents. I developed my own shorthand that could be recorded in fits and spurts on calendars. Once in a while, I wrote letters that documented the peculiarities of my journey. As my kids aged, I relied upon oral history. I told stories.

         Several years ago, my kids no longer living at home, and thus with more actual free time on my hands, I began to write again. I filled daily journals with my thoughts, observations, and memories. A few of these transformed into creative writing. One day on a whim, I sent one of my stories to the owner of a local newspaper, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I was more than pleasantly surprised when she phoned me to request more, and so began a three year collaboration.

         In 2014, I discovered this site, WDC. This was my first experience writing to answer/complete/embellish prompts. I entered contests initially. Blogging appealed to me, eventually. I like the premise of responding to a prompt within a set time frame. This involves more spontaneity, and thinking as I write. It amazes me that my fellow bloggers interpret and respond so differently. Now, I devote time and attention to writing in amongst my addictions to reading, eating, sleeping.... oh, I really missed sleeping for years. Funny, I haven't pedalled a bike in years either... Perhaps I should put my theory to the test. It's supposed to be a skill that's never forgotten, right?