By Paul Lima

A friend was telling me she wanted to start working out with weights. "You have a bench press, don't you?" I asked. "Yes, but I don't want to do presses." "You have a set of free weights you can use for curls, no?" "They're in the basement, and its dark and dingy. I don't like it down there. I should join a gym, but I don't know when I'll find time to go. Besides, it's always more fun to go with someone..."

    As she spoke my mind wandered. I remembered a time when I really, really wanted to be a writer. To write short stories and poetry. Perhaps a novel. But oh how I hated my clunky old portable typewriter. I was a poor typist and the type bars were forever jamming when I hit several keys simultaneously. How could I be a writer with such a poor typewriter, I moaned. If only I had an electric typewriter...

    Flash forward a few years. I purchased a nifty, second-hand electric typewriter and tapped out university essays on it. But I hated my work space. I had to use a kitchen table, which meant clearing the table, hauling the typewriter out of a closet, setting it up... The space was good enough for writing essays, but if I wanted to be a real writer I'd need an environment more conducive to the creative process.

    I still remember the first house my wife and I bought: four bedrooms, which meant a master bedroom, a guest room and two offices -- one for each of us. I had my space! But there were these new fangled devices on the market... Computers, they were called. With word processing software, which meant you could revise to your heart's content before printing off your highly polished manuscript. And there was I, with a hefty mortgage and an old electric typewriter. I could not afford a PC. How was I ever going to become a prolific writer if I did not have a computer?

    I think you get the picture. We all have dark dingy basements of the soul or psyche that keep us from accomplishing what we want. Do we acknowledge them for what they are? Or do we believe our excuses are in fact legitimate reasons? Who are we fooling, besides ourselves?

    Now, you might say: But Paul, you've had short stories published in the Toronto Star and a number of literary magazines. You've had poetry read on CBC Radio and published in literary magazines. You edited Canada's first online literary e-zine (Maple Syrup Simmering; now defunct) for two years. And you've been a successful freelance writer for the last 15 years. In reply, I'd say: Thank you. But I could have done more, can do more, with my creative writing.

    My creative writing. That's what I keep stored in my dark dingy basement. Perhaps what you keep stored in the dark is the launch of your freelance newspaper/magazine writing career, tapping into higher-paying markets or setting out to conquer corporate markets. Perhaps it's a collection of short stories, a series of personal essays, your novel or autobiography...

        There isn't time to write. I am so busy with family, housekeeping, work. I am not financially secure. I need to feel secure before I tackle anything new. I tried once, but failed. Why would I try again. I have an old computer. My desk is not ergonomically correct...

    Can you hear Charles Dickens (I think he wrote in a hovel on parchment with a quill) decomposing in his grave? And lets not talk about the ancient Greeks who had no paper but simply memorized their work.

    To acknowledge excuses as excuses, to admit what you want to accomplish and to own (be responsible for) your actions is difficult. I know this first hand. I am slowly crawling out of the darkness where I keep my "I'd like to get this novel written but..." excuses buried.

    I don't expect you to do the same on my say-so. However, if there is something you want to accomplish, do yourself a favour. Make a list of the reasons why you are not moving forward. Look at it closely. Separate the excuses from the reasons and see what's left over. Not much, I suspect.

    If you don't want to pump iron in a dark dingy basement, go down there and start anyway. If you close your eyes, you can be pumping iron anywhere in the world. Imagine that: No more excuses to keep you from working out with words!

(Paul Lima is a freelance writer, writing instructor and media interview trainer. He is a member of the Toronto Chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. You can read samples of his business and periodical writing, and more about his writing and media interview training services, online: www.paullima.com) 

Paul Lima
VP Communications
PWAC Toronto
www.pwactoronto.org
© 2003 Paul Lima 

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