Everyone knows the writing process 'cause writers love to write about it. When creative juices are flowing, words pour out like flood waters. It's quite a ride. Then some damn beaver dams up the word stream. Most call it writer's block; I call it "Beaver Season." The river dries up. Nothing worth reading flows downstream. Until cancer, I'd been locked in Beaver Season for years.
Then Gollum showed up. What better name for a gray, slimy tumor who lurks in the dark regions of your body. While he hated me and wanted me dead, he also came bearing gifts. One of the most "precious" was beaver dam dynamite. I could no longer wait for the dam to disappear, I had to blow it up. Healthy people can postpone dreams for decades; sick people better Get-R-Done. With Gollum's involuntary assistance, I blew up the dam and started writing like there might be no tomorrow. I had my deadline.
"I don't feel like writing today." Boom. Get-R-Done.
"The words won't come; try again tomorrow. Kaboom. Get-R-Done.
"I need to do something else today." No you don't; Boom - Kaboom. Get-R-Done.
Writers fail to realize they build their own dams and blame it on the beavers. Gollum blew up my beaver dam and taught me the discipline of writing. Writing is hard work, even for gifted writers. Words don't come easy. On a good day, I can only write 6 pages that I've got the guts to ask someone else to read. On a normal day, I'll crank out 4 pages of worthwhile prose. On bad days, I'd produce zilch. But not any more. Gollum showed up with more dynamite and whoops there goes another beaver dam site.
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