High Gear

My creativity peaks and dips, providing a natural balance to my life, and when I'm at my most creative I find strange things happen. I wake up in the middle of the night and begin to write in my head, knowing I have to do something about it; half- asleep, I stumble out with my notebook in hand, curl up in my chair  (after kicking the dog out of it - the plus side is it's always warm) and write. I can't think of anything I've done in the wee hours that has been uninspired.

Sometimes I get up multiple times; thinking I'm done, I crawl back into bed and get settled only to have new ideas for wording, sentence structure or story twists, spring to life and demand my attention.

Other weird things happen too, like my present urge to write horrible poetry (I'm really not that good at it), try strange word combinations (like fireweeds red sky - since went does fireweed have sky?) and risky content.

How is it I get these creative urges and deal with the exhaustion of my mid-night rampages? They come through my immersion into writing, the more I write the more creative I get. Sure, somedays I don't feel like writing as much those are the dips, but I do it anyway; I must. I go for a walks. I let my thoughts wander and soon I must write something down, my being demands it with every breath. I sit type, erase, and type anew. I start with the easy stuff, the things I know. It doesn't matter where I start, it comes. Writing begets more writing and after a midnight binge I often awake early feeling refreshed and energized.

And, as I prepare to begin my busy summer schedule on Monday, I know it will be my writing which helps balance and ground me, keeping me from losing myself in the rush of the everyday.

Adieu for now - poetry is calling (weird).