OtherThanThat

I have decided that today is the day I start exercising.
Anyone who knows me even a little now has a quizzical furrow between their brows. Except, of course, for the subset of my circle with a new beau … bo-tox.
Whether visible or not, the confusion is palpable.
“Um, Cathy … Start exercising? You’re already at the gym most days. We don’t have to have an intervention, do we?”
Rest easy, my friends. I’m talking about restoring some slightly atrophied muscles of a different sort …

I’m talking about the muscle memory of being creative. That means different things to different people. In my case, it’s about putting pen to paper, finger to keyboard, air to vocal cords or some combination thereof.
Every writer I know, regardless of genre, has spoken at some point about needing to find a consistent rhythm for the creative process. The need to turn the act of writing into an involuntary action, or at least a good, solid habit. Endurance training for the creative tendons and ligaments – things you must keep strong and flexible if you want to be nimble and survive.
Writing is pervasive in my life. The act of stringing words together in various combinations (Dare I call it literary beading? Urg. No. Bad idea.) is central for me. From the business proposals and corporate writing I did in past lives through various jobs in the media; and from the rapid-fire exchange of daily email tsunami to the ongoing analysis and perspectives I generate as an analyst for Guidewire Group – my existence is about creating content. But writing every day, churning out a consistent flow of quality content, takes discipline – a discipline I’ve found more than a little challenging to embrace.
When it comes to my professional content, the weekly editorial deadlines for Guidewire Group ensure a consistent drumbeat from my keyboard. I don’t have such motivators here at Other Than That, and as a result I find that I’ve been slacking off when it comes to getting my thoughts together, and into the digital realm.
And so it is this particular ligament to which I direct my attention.
Pulling, strengthening, pushing the limits until the cadence of language rises and falls with more regularity upon this digital canvas.
I’d better find a good orthopedist … just in case.