“People don’t really talk like that, you know.” “No, but they think that way.” —-Diane Kruger (Abigail Chase) and Nicholas Cage (Ben Gates) in National Treasure. What I love about writing is that it lets me communicate in poetry without sounding self-important and condescending. Never in reality could I talk about a filigree-and-marmalade sunrise.…
Read MoreAll articles filed in writer’s block
Inspiration, Insomnia
I had forgotten. The creative process is a consuming one in any form. I tend to get my brain wound up, and then, even if my entire being is crying out for rest, I can’t get to sleep. It can happen after critique group, it can happen when I have a new article assignment or…
Read MoreReflections on Text and Style
July 7, 2009: I began the day with “O God Beyond All Praising” and ended it with “Rockin’ the Runway,” which is essentially Contemporary Christian/Praise & Worship. In the middle I worked on my own hymn text, so while I stood at the concert tonight singing, I was also analyzing the texts. Many of these…
Read MoreThe Muscle That Is Exercised
Several years ago, a liturgical songwriter I admire made the comment that he hardly ever wrote any music anymore. This is a man whose gift with words, and his music in general, are really powerful, and it made me sad, wondering what caused his dry spell. That was before Alex was born. At that time,…
Read MoreThere’s nothing quite like a deadline…
As of ten minutes ago, I’m more or less done with my short story. I have one more question niggling the back of my brain, and I’m waiting for the all-seeing, all-knowing perspective of my critique group to help me find clarity. But with or without their response, I will be finished with my story tomorrow.…
Read MoreProcrastination
It’s psychological, I’m sure of it. I’m so insecure about this short story that I keep clicking from place to place on my desktop, trying to put off writing the blog post about how I’m procrastinating finishing it. Am I blocked? No—the darned story was “finished” eighteen months ago. But we all know…
Read MoreToo much–Too Long!
It is an occasion for thanks, and a little bit of frenetic freaking. Writer’s block? What writer’s block!I have too much to do!!!!! There is the long-standing commitment to finish the novel so I can be sending it out while I’m nursing around the clock for the next six months…There’s the new Advent book idea,…
Read MoreMomentum Revisited
Time is limited. Demands on it are not. Distractions abound, weariness interferes, sleepiness settles down over my brain in a heavy blanket that slows thought to a crawl. I sit at the computer and beat my way through it as best I can. Sometimes I do well. Sometimes I don’t. In 1998 I began…
Read MoreTime, Momentum, and Concentration: the anti-Writer’s Block
Momentum: the motion of a body or system, equal to the product of the mass of a body and its velocity. Antonym: paralysis. Concentration: the act of bringing one’s efforts, faculties, etc., to bear on one thing. Antonym: distraction. The idea of “home-based support services” is that the respite provider comes and…
Read MoreIs this writer’s block, or just procrastination?
I’m finding myself in a strange position the last few days. Strange for me, at least. I don’t want to write. Or, more accurately: I do want to write, but I’m terrified of the project I’m working on. As a mother, flute/voice teacher, liturgical musician, choir director, NFP teacher, composer and writer who has a…
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Kathleen M. Basi 