Poetica Magazine

When I was six years old and confined to bed with the flu, I decided to write a novel. After writing a few pages and realizing I had to define the characters and construct a story line, I became totally exhausted. That was the end of my life as a fiction writer.

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I didn’t think of writing professionally until I attended the University of Pennsylvania where we had to write loads of term papers. While other students were taking no-doze drugs the night before their papers were due, I slept peacefully because my research papers were happily completed before the deadline. Turns out I loved to do the research and writing. Now I write reference and instructional books, most notably my book, Weddings, Dating, and Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide, Including Royalty a book that has itself been used as a reference for countless student papers and is located in libraries in many countries.

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Most people think writers who work at home alone have plenty of time, that writers are always secretly watching television and "eating bonbons." I always do my writing at home because to avoid distractions. However, as soon at sit down to write, I get calls from friends, from companies that should be on my no-call list, and from doctors office assistants wanting me to confirm my appointments. I spend too much time looking for things.

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It shouldn’t be hard to find things; my writer’s study is essentially white - white walls with white furniture. Color therapists say white carries a full color light spectrum that resonates, energizes, and strengthens all organs of the body. I feel a sense of inspiration there that encourages me to write as the sun’s rays shine brightly through the long windows on both sides of my desk. On the walls are huge decorative acrylic paintings that display visible colors of the rainbow that always inspire hope to succeed in future writing endeavors.

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I research a lot because of the type of writing I do, but then I pile one research paper on top of another, ultimately unable to find the needed paper that's underneath. While working on the computer, I suddenly need technical computer support. Because it often comes from another country, the tech support person and I may have difficulty communicating with each other and that becomes another problem to be solved; another problem that keeps me from my writing.

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There are days when the mess is more compelling than the work, when I have to bless my mess in order to give myself permission to write. Conclusion: I don't have time to write. Yet I do.

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And when I’m done at the end of the day, I walk away from that white room, now dark, leaving my lonely Mac Pro, visions of its glowingly lit keyboard inspiring me to write.

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Thanks for reading JWorld Café, the Poetica Magazine Blog.

Carolyn Mordecai, Guest Blogger

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Carolyn Mordecai is the author of the books Weddings, Dating, and Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide, Including Royalty (winner of the Glyph Best Multicultural Award), Gourd Craft: Growing, Designing, and Decorating Ornamental and Hardshelled Gourds (Crown Publishers) and others. Her work has appeared in national women’s magazines, including Cosmopolitan. She has taught freelance writing courses at Allegheny Community College and at Pennsylvania State University. Visit her Amazon page. - Linda Pressman, Blog Editor