It eats your life

Photo credit: asifthebes (stock.xchng)

Not too long ago, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “The Karel Show.” Karel was talking about how one of his radio mentors gave him this advice: start your show with the topic that’s most important to you at this moment – whether or not it’s in the news. 

That makes sense. When the host cares passionately about the subject, it makes for compelling radio.

I am sure the same goes for blogs. I see a recurring theme in another of my favorite podcasts, “Blogcast FM”: write about what’s important to you, even if it’s scary or controversial or emotional (or all of the above).

As you can tell, I missed my post quota for the month of June, and July is nearly one-third over and I still haven’t posted. Why?

I have been living in the real world less than half the time lately. Sometimes it’s like I’m only 10% in reality and 90% in –

Wait.

Let me find the right words.

This is still a public blog. I need, and want, to approach the subject obliquely.

I know my husband does not read this blog. But there’s a first time for everything.

So…

Let’s give this a name: Damn Trouble.

Damn Trouble is in my head, eating up most of the other thoughts that usually reside there. Thoughts of business and new ideas and creativity and beauty and photography and walking and travel and trains and books and authors and podcasts and good food and friends and family.

Damn Trouble is dangerous – I know it is – but it’s sexy and exciting and thrilling and gives me a break from my utterly boring real life.

Damn Trouble compels me to Google it and try to gather as much information about it as possible – and when I find all of the information, I Google again because I just like reading about it, like when I was six and collected multiple “Cinderella” books.

Damn Trouble is a damn problem, that's for sure.

But...

Damn Trouble has one, and ONLY one, upside – it is compelling me to write fiction again. Years ago, it was easy to write fiction – when I had the juice, which flows from a deep and frankly erotic place. Without this juice, my writing is non-fictional and relatively tame.

Now, the wild and crazy ideas are coming – ideas which may very well fit in with the new edgy, sexually explicit novels which are popular these days. Who knows…letting Damn Trouble come out and play in a healthy way could solve more than one problem for us.

That’s the way to beat it.