Dogs of Love

"Dogs of Love" was the name of one of my bands many years ago - we played bluegrass and really only had a gig or two at the American Legion. Its leader was a guy who painted houses for a living (I helped him) and told me, "there are really only three colors, farmhouse white, International Red and John Deere Green."

But with respect to writing, writer's block is really the dogs of love. We love writing yet here I am every day doing everything but. It's related to my schedule. I work nights, fall asleep immediately when done, and need to chill seriously in the morning when I wake up. It takes me several cups of coffee. I give people rides, make more coffee, waste some time, like I just got out of work. By late morning I'm ready to get started.

But then all these other responsibilities come into view. If I could clear the deck at seven or eight and say, "writing hour!" I could probably have some uninterrupted minutes at the keyboard. By eleven there's no such thing as uninterrupted, interrupted is the air I breathe. I end up, through the noon hour, eating and doing things that are "interruptable."

Another day goes by, maybe another week, nnothing written. I'm about done with a story, and with a book of stories, and even have a novel mostly written. No luck finishing any of them. It's not a lack of ideas - the ideas are still coming. It's lack of ability to pick up the big computer (the word one) and finish.

I'm dying for a win here. It's the dogs, the dogs of love.