11 Comments
User's avatar
Rebecca Moon Ruark's avatar

Ha, scarf is on! I've written one story in second person--a fun exercise I might try again sometime. And ... now I'm hungry for an omelet. But it's all about the sitting back down in that writing chair, isn't it. Fun piece!

Expand full comment
Veronika Bond's avatar

I loved reading this post. Very relatable, honest, self-reflective and witty. This is what happens when a writer slows down to document their work ~ procrastinations, distractions, self-doubt, self-reproval, doing housework, contemplating the neighbours' pets ~ well, a lot of the time. How do we ever get a good piece of writing done? 🤔💭 There must be some magical daimon...

Expand full comment
Lani V. Cox's avatar

Thanks, Vernonika. I'm glad you liked it. How do we get anything done, indeed!

Expand full comment
Heather's avatar

Love it! And I totally relate.

Expand full comment
Lani V. Cox's avatar

Thanks, Heather.

Expand full comment
Yi Xue's avatar

Hm, this post pretty much described my morning, every morning- sit down and start, stop and standup, and repeat ... One hour goes by and I am still staring at the screen with one pathetic opening paragraph...

Expand full comment
Lani V. Cox's avatar

Oh dear. Yes, it can be tough to get going, but once you do, it's glorious. When I'm lost in writing, using the bathroom or getting hungry becomes a nuance -- and I love to eat!

Expand full comment
Sue Sutherland-Wood's avatar

Aha, so I am not alone - I actually caught myself emptying crumbs from beneath the toaster the other day (and then POLISHING it!) rather than starting to write. An all-time low even for me! I used to believe that I couldn't be a "proper" writer because I procrastinated in this way but now I simply build-in time for this kind of faffery before I begin. Nice piece!

Expand full comment
Lani V. Cox's avatar

Ahhh, the 'ol polishing of the toaster (tee, hee)! I'll have to remember that one, since we all know you can't possibly get rid of all those pesky crumbs.

No, you're not alone.

Thanks, Sue!

Expand full comment
Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

I enjoyed this post a lot; I felt I was there watching the omelette cook (I make them for lunch but never for breakfast, though).

I wish I'd learned to type. I should have done that when I bought my first typewriter (yes, I've been around long enough to have used those). But I had no foresight. I didn't realise that it would become a fundamental life skill. So half my life is spent writing; the other half is frittered away on correcting the typos.

Expand full comment
Lani V. Cox's avatar

It's strange, right? It's the one skill I learned in high school that I feel has been the most valuable. Of course, I could be forgetting plenty of other things -- but man, oh, man, especially these days, teaching overseas, students don't learn this, they just use their phones.

Thanks for restacking, Jeffrey! Glad you liked it.

Expand full comment