Getting back into the habit of writ­ing has been incred­i­bly dif­fi­cult for me for a vari­ety of rea­sons, but the gears finally turned a half rota­tion today.  I wrote actual story words not related to the Roundbottom project.  It’s the first thing I’ve writ­ten since the begin­ning of the year, and I hope it’s a sign of things to come.

I don’t find that writ­ing is like rid­ing a bicy­cle.  I think for me it is some­thing that I can get out of prac­tice with very eas­ily.  The more I do it, the more my brain clicks into the right place.  The longer I go with­out it, the harder it is for me to find that men­tal space.   When things work, it’s a glo­ri­ous feel­ing.  But right now, the brain feels like it needs some WD-40.

But hey, I actu­ally wrote, and you eat an ele­phant one bite at a time, and you write a story 1000 words (or so) at a time just the same.  Next thing you, know, I’ll be fin­ish­ing a novel.   Not hav­ing done that feels like liv­ing next to a really tall moun­tain, own­ing a lot of moun­tain climb­ing gear, but never actu­ally mak­ing an attempt to reach the summit.

What tech­niques do you have to get back to writ­ing after a long absence?  Any tips to share?