Barbara J. Hamby

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Thought for the Day

“Writing is no trouble: you just jot down
ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity
itself - it is the occurring which is difficult.”

~ Stephen Leacock

Sometimes the jotting becomes a problem if you’re in the shower or walking without writing utensils. Unfortunately, that’s often when the best ideas occur. I once met a writer who had crayons that would write on shower walls and could later be erased. Pretty smart, I thought. Now that I’m older and my memory is often a problem, I deliberately try to exercise it by remembering ideas until I can get to where I can write them down.

I once recited a poem over and over all the way home from a morning stroll when I saw a Barbie doll floating in a wading pool. I hadn’t heard of Barbie’s who swam, so I assumed some child had drowned her and composed the poem about it in my head, as I walked. When I got home, I wrote it down. I keep pencils and pens in every room in this apartment and try to have paper handy, also.

It seems to be harder for me to get my rear end in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard to develop the many ideas I have. The internet offers tempting distractions, as does my email inbox. And that lovely swimming pool with its neighboring hot tub, constantly beckons.