{"id":356,"date":"2016-07-19T22:53:52","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T22:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/?p=356"},"modified":"2025-04-21T13:40:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:40:35","slug":"the-fine-art-of-not-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/19\/the-fine-art-of-not-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fine Art Of Not Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Not<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Gary Gladstone<\/p>\n

Today I will write more because last week I let a million distractions keep me from actually hitting the keys.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll start now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel better because of my resolve. Let’s start.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me just check email first. I’ll open this <\/p>\n

important-looking message.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I paid that already! I need to reply now to avoid guilt. I can’t write with a guilt distraction.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Should I use alcohol to clean the smudge that hides the ampersand on the 7\u00a0key? That’s why I can never find the ampersand. I’ll use a Q-tip because I see the cotton balls are all gone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Q-tip seems to work well between keys, too. Look how dirty they are in between.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I should add cotton balls and Q-tips to my shopping list.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s hard writing vertically on the refrigerator door. I feel like such a grownup when I write things on the shopping list. It\u2019s writing that always brings a successful result.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back at my desk. I twist the monitor for a better view and ceremoniously suspend ten fingers over the keyboard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cat drops a jingle ball at my feet and meows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Go away. I’m writing.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cat meows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Go away<\/em>.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cat stares at me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Not now. Go away.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cat meows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Can’t you see I’m writing?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cat meows. I toss the ball and smile because I’m such a good owner. Now I will write.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I look at what I wrote last week and correct the tense in the fifth paragraph. My eyeglasses have a smudge that blurs some of the words of the 12-point font. Should I wipe my glasses or increase the font size?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I increase the font size to 16 points and now I can easily read what I have already written. I notice that with this one adjustment, my document has gone from two pages to four.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel better now. I can take a minute to look in the fridge because four pages are not that bad for an hour’s work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I sweep the crumbs away from the keyboard as the sun pops out. It streams through the picture window. The bright light behind my monitor makes the screen hard to see.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I place a piece of cardboard to block the sun on the monitor. I notice that the window glass is hazy because it hasn’t been cleaned all winter. My view of the Juniper bushes is clouded. A clear view will be helpful to clear thinking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A soapy sponge and a 12-inch squeegee work fast for cleaning the window and a wad of paper towels soaks up the corner drips.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now I can really write.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I read last week\u2019s work again to see what I must write next.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I find unneeded words and remove them. I change Mary Jo Santini’s name to that of another classmate so she won’t be too insulted with my characterization of her as \u201ceasy.\u201d I change Karen Torgeson\u2019s name to Celia Torgeson. I spend seven minutes researching the variations of the spelling of Torgeson so I don’t insult Karen by misspelling her name should she read this after sixty-four years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feeling vindicated, I reread my corrections to see if I have cut and pasted correctly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that it’s always a good idea to step away from the work for a few hours to get a fresh outlook. I push back my chair and walk outside for a well-earned breath of fresh air.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing is hard work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary Gladstone \u00a02016<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Gary Gladstone Today I will write more because last week I let a million distractions keep me from actually hitting the keys. I\u2019ll start now. I feel better because of my resolve. Let’s start. Let me just check email first. I’ll open this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essay","category-memoir"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7zCq3-5K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1102,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2019\/06\/23\/the-caregiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":0},"title":"The Caregiver","author":"Jeff Ginsburg","date":"June 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cI\u2019m done resting Ethan, how \u2018bout you?\u201d I whisper. We both feel soft after practicing yoga and our hour-long, turning-within meditation technique. We\u2019re still resting on the large\u00a0mat that covers half the floor of our studio apartment. Two years ago while learning this technique, we met and three months later\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jeff- Caregiver","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Jeff-Caregiver.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":866,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2017\/04\/17\/write-right-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":1},"title":"Write Right Away","author":"Christine Bexley","date":"April 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 My best writing? Right about now. Unless it was earlier. I write when it\u2019s not convenient, when I have four thousand other things that beg my attention: wash the dog, clean the shower grout, sleep-dammit-sleep. The echoes of every great writer holler through the hollow halls of my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prose"","block_context":{"text":"Prose","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/prose\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/P1010370-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/04\/25\/hooker-3-woo-eee-dont-do-that\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":2},"title":"Hooker #3, \u201cWoo-eee! Don\u2019t Do That!\u201d","author":"Gary Gladstone","date":"April 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Gary Gladstone I can list four hookers I\u2019ve bumped into in my lifetime. As I write these memoirs, one sticks out especially in my mind. She is hooker number three. In 1967 I\u2019m 32 and the rare Manhattan resident who actually keeps a car garaged in the city.\u00a0 It\u2019s expensive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memoir"","block_context":{"text":"Memoir","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/memoir\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2016-04-09 at 6.05.00 PM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-09-at-6-05-00-pm.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/08\/01\/about-alexandra-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":3},"title":"About Alexandra- Part 2","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"August 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Alexandra is my daughter but I\u2019ll let her speak for herself even if I can\u2019t stand it. . . . . Mom is alright. At least she\u2019s not mean. But she\u2019s a mess. Like when I got home on Tuesday the Rescue Service was pulling her out of the mulch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"studio08012016 022","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/studio08012016-022-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":467,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/08\/04\/not-what-it-seems\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":4},"title":"Not What It Seems","author":"Jeff Ginsburg","date":"August 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cEthan, it\u2019s Delilah.\u201d \u201cHi Delilah. I\u2019m almost there.\u00a0 Are you?\u201d I ask as I walk briskly through the cold winter night. \u201cI\u2019m gonna be late. \u00a0Don\u2019t worry my friend Rachel will be there.\u201d \u201cI thought it would be an evening of just you and me.\u201d I reply. \u201cHa ha.\u201d\u00a0 She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"googSquareC","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/googSquareC-300x284.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1012,"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2017\/10\/29\/noah-and-the-carpenter\/","url_meta":{"origin":356,"position":5},"title":"Noah and the Carpenter","author":"Kelly L. Goodridge","date":"October 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 On Halloween Eve, while Rick littered his front lawn with mock foam tombstones, his former neighbor Chuck stopped to visit. They shook hands.\u00a0 Chuck was close to 50, his once brown hair now peppered with gray.\u00a0 Rick hadn\u2019t seen him in years.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up, man?\u201d \u201cWell, I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prose"","block_context":{"text":"Prose","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/prose\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_3190 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_3190-2-1024x625.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}