Of all of my bad habits, the one I hate the most is that I get ready, I take aim, but rarely fire. Figuratively speaking. I have no follow through. I rarely reap the rewards of delayed gratification. I never stick with something long enough. This lovely little habit to over-prepare and under-deliver has left me in some interesting positions. I have two yoga mats, yoga blocks, and a special yoga towel, but I only sporadically practice yoga. I have two huge rolls of red yarn I was going to use to knit my friend a scarf for Christmas, but it’s May and the only thing I have done is watch the same YouTube video on how to “cast on” my work about a billion times because I always forget how to do it. I have around eighty brush tip markers for the hand-lettering I was going to begin, but never did. Do you see the pattern? I’m so prepared I can out boy scout a boy scout.

This has also seeped into my writing. I have read countless books, used awesome online tools, and have taken some helpful courses. But at times those things can just get in the way of doing the dirty work of sitting down at the computer and spitting the words out on the page. I have over thirty pieces in my “works in progress” folder but I’m more likely to walk into a Barnes & Noble for the latest issue of Writer’s Digest claiming to share with me the secret to finally getting published than I am to sit down and finish a piece to publish. And for the record, odds are I won’t finish reading that Writer’s Digest either.

But somewhere along the way, something magical happened. I finally started writing. As soon as I started getting words on the page, all the little seeds of extra learning began to bloom. Things I had read or learned while procrastinating became helpful when I finally sat down to write. So, of all the bad habits in the world, maybe being over prepared isn’t the worst of them. When it comes to writing anyway. I can’t say the same about knitting.

Eventually all that writing lead me here. It is a huge privilege and honor to be serving as the summer session Writer In Residence for the Racine Arts Council. I can’t wait to see what stories our community is going to tell! I’ll be using my time as administrator of the blog to share some of the cool tools I have collected during my procrastinations that have eventually helped my writing along the way. I’ll even add a writing prompt or two at the end of the posts so feel free to stop into the Racine Arts Council (I’ll be there Fridays from noon to 5pm and on Sundays from noon to 3pm) and work on your writing or share what the prompt led you to write. On good days, I may even have some of the stuff I’ll be writing about on hand for you to check out.

My blog posts will be archived here, at racinewriterinresidence.wordpress.com, as well as thethinkwellblog.wordpress.com if you would like to keep following my blog throughout as well as after my term.

Join me this summer Racine! And write your heart out.

Prompt: There is a message on your voice mail that will change your life for the worse. What is it? Who left it?

This week’s prompt brought to you by 642 Tiny Things To Write About