Writing again.

The latest UC Davis Magazine had an article about a local NY Times bestselling novelist, John Lescroart, residing in Davis. What I remember most about the article was he wrote from "10 to 5" everyday and aimed to write 10 good pages a day. As an English major, I remember writing endless papers dissecting passages, and interpreting poems from other eras. All of these papers were double spaced, at a certain font size, and certain font to make your paper meet the professor's standards. I needed to write to learn as well as pass a class. That was my motivation back then.

After college, I toyed with the idea of becoming a writer. How great would it be to share your stories with a large readership? Of course I've never thought about daily writing from 10-5. I may not have that type of self motivation. I was more enamoured by the novelty of having the freedom to write whatever you want to write about.  In reality, writers don't have that luxury of writing "whatever", they have contracts to fulfill. They have publishers with deadlines. They have editors who don't like the masterpiece you've written. Despite all of these negatives, writers must push through and put in their hours. One's writing can deteriorate once you stop. Like other artists, writers must continue perfecting their craft just as musicians can't stop playing and composing music.

So why is the John Lescroat article  important to me? I've never read his books, but he reminded me that I need to continue writing to improve and maintain the standard I hold for myself.  My writing outlet is here on this blog. The topics are random. The topics are personal. The topics are mine.  ( I have no publisher to tell me otherwise)   The posts may not be as exciting as a well known novelist, and definitely not a 10 page essay, but I'll try to keep it interesting. Welcome back to me....again....for maybe the 3rd time!