The Writer’s Arrow

Little quill, on an inkwell, rests. The stationary lives up to its name. Ideas die in wait on a solid oak desk where an empty chair defies its game. Silence echoes your nothings. A woodpecker pecks on your window frame with intensity that rattles his brain. He needs to eat.

The poor starve. Their bellies ache.

“So it is with the world!” you shout into the pillow.

No one hears you from your bed where you scratch notes. The pencil line you draw with those words simply chases its tail around your margins. You break the lead. You crumple the paper and throw it across the room. At least the paper sees some action. It flies through the air and lands just short of your garbage bin. You leave it there with a few of its cousins. You pull up the covers and sleep among your eraser droppings.

Don’t you see the problem?

The pencil is uncommitted.
It changes its mind at every whim.
It cracks under pressure and requires constant sharpening.
Who has time for that?
Why are you in bed?
The alarms are all ringing.

Little quill, on an inkwell, rests.

Writer from passion rests.

World starves.

~

Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me

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68 thoughts on “The Writer’s Arrow”

  6. Very interesting writing … thank you, Tanya. A return to littérature engagée, engaged as all good literature should be, one way or another. You are going to make the new year very interesting. Best wishes, Roger.

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Roger! My best writing usually comes when I am fired up over some issue or another. It’s what motivates me, so this was my reminder for the start of the new year, and a focal point for me. I really appreciate your feedback and encouragement. Best to you always!

      Reply

  12. I do my preliminary writing with pen or pencil, depending. I don’t like all the eraser droppings, and I tend to erase things and then wish that I hadn’t. My first drafts are barely legible to me. It’s hard to catch all your ideas as they flow even writing very quickly.

    Reply

    1. I switch to my laptop after my first notes. If I keep going with the notes, I have the same problems, but not for being a lefty…just for being messy.

      Reply

      2. I have a draft for a short story post that I finished this morning. I can only make sense out of a part of the draft…and I’ve already finished the piece…Lol (I can’t even follow my own arrows around the page without getting lost)

      3. I have to play “follow the arrows around the page”. That game usually extends around the margins and on the back of the page…It’s like a maze with words thrown in just to play with your mind…Lol

      4. It is. I’ll have a fragment of a sentence that I keep followed by the rest of the paragraph crossed out (in ink, usually). The arrow goes from that fragment to another with some circled words above it followed by another arrow to a fragment I squeeze in on the margin to finish the thought. Put ten of those on a page and NUMBER them…I use different colors of ink and post it notes sometimes. What a mess. I did clean all the eraser droppings off my desk yesterday…

      5. I switch to my lap top quickly. The notes are just there to catch my ideas…but my ideas are bits and pieces of a system my brain is working out…they fall all over the place like cookie crumbs…hehe.

  13. Beautiful, Tanya. Which writer has not experienced this fight? None. I read once that the “product” is not created in the writing, but in the re-writing. If and when we are parked in “neutral,” just write things down…get started forward. Then re-write as needed. This works for me, but only some of the time. Happy new year to you and yours!!

    Steve 🙂

    Reply

    1. Happy New Year to you also, Steve! As I started 2017, I wanted to focus my writing toward those areas that move my heart. This post was my little reminder to stay motivated. I’m so glad you liked it!😊

      Reply

      1. There are probably many things which move your heart, Tanya, as you probably feel something for a number of causes and cares. You should have no problem finding topics to write about…

        🙂

      4. I think we each have our own calling, and part of the battle is finding it. We serve different purposes. That’s an important point. My best work comes when I follow that fire burning within. I think that’s true of all of us.
        Have a wonderful day, my friend!😊

      5. I’ve read at times that our best work comes from the times we work on the things which really challenge us, not our “passions.” However, I’m inclined to agree with you instead. We do our best when we work on things which really matter to us…you know, at the “gut level.”

        I’ll do my best with the day the good Lord has given me. You have a fantastic day, Tanya 🙂

  15. I liked the thoughts and wisdom shared in the poetry.
    “The pencil is uncommitted.
    It changes its mind at every whim.
    It cracks under pressure and requires constant sharpening.”
    Most writers, artist and musicians. See the world with real vision. Real visions changes our views and thoughts. John Dryden wrote 600 years ago. “Writers must write the truth, We are the historian of our time.”

    Reply

  17. Tanya, it just dawned on my when I saw this on John’s blog that I’m following you but not getting any of your posts. So I’m going to unfollow you and refollow you immediately to see if this helps. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been getting your posts. Love, N 🙂 <3

    Reply

    1. Hi, Natalie! I have had that happen to me with a number of bloggers. When I check, I’m still following them. Not sure what happens. Good to see you back!❤

      Reply

      1. It’s crazy! WP needs to get their act together on that situation! I’m glad to be back and hope you didn’t think I was just ignoring you!‼️❌⭕️

  19. Pingback: The Writer’s Arrow — TANYA CLIFF | Arrowhead Freelance and Publishing

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