Ever Itch to Write?

 

the itch of literature came over me and nothing could cure it but the scratching of a pen. 

When I read this quote for the first time, I knew exactly what the writer meant. There are times when I feel the need to sit down and write. It doesn't have to be a story or essay or poem. Writing a personal letter to a friend can soothe that itch. Or writing in a journal. 

The best thing you can do when that urge to write comes to you is to follow what it is telling you. The gentleman who is quoted probably wrote with an old-fashioned quill pen, but we are fortunate to have the ability to write in several ways.

We can sit at our computer, tap away on our cellphone, or pick up a ballpoint pen, or even a lead pencil, and write immediately. Those who journal most likely keep it in a handy spot and can grab it at will and write whatever is in their mind or on their heart. Some journal on a computer. However you journal, it becomes a habit. If you decide to skip it for a day or two, I have a feeling that the itch to write in your journal comes over you.

Sometimes writers work on assignments or for a piece to submit to a contest or a magazine in hope of being published. It's what writers do. Still, there are times when we are moved to write something for ourselves. A line or two of a poem flits through your mind, and if you don't stop and write it down right away, it can disappear. Write even those two lines and then leave it alone until the 'itch' to write comes upon you.

When that itch to write happens, listen and respond. The more you push it aside, I fear the more of an itch you will have. Could it be your muse telling you to hustle to your favorite writing spot and get busy? It's better to listen to her rather than put up with the nagging she's sure to do.