Write One Word

You have to write one word to write what you need to say but sometimes that one word can be elusive – held back by the people around you (or maybe just held back by your reluctance to share).

One word.

I just want to write one word. 

I know writing one word will lead me closer to the total words I want to create, and one move closer to the writing success I’m pursuing.

But each time I start with the one word, someone around me holds up a stop sign. My word flow becomes hindered because of the randomness around me.

It’s tough not getting frustrated at the ones with the signs. Short of hiding away, I don’t know how I can make them keep the signs to themselves. But I don’t want to hide away. I want to see the world around me because the word flow is inspired by those things that I see.

Many years ago, I set up my “office” smack in the middle of the kitchen, right next to the washer and dryer (which was also in the kitchen). I could see everyone. I could hear everyone. I could keep an eye on whatever I had cooking up for the next meal.

And I got a lot done. The boys knew when the keyboard was clicking away, I was on a roll. They would wait until there was a pause in the clicking before they asked a question. Otherwise, they let me work. Rarely did any of them carry stop signs around.

I upgraded my office to an extra room. Actually, after having remodeled the house, we had rooms for all the boys but the two older ones (who had always shared a room) kept hanging out in one room. I kicked them back into one space and claimed the other space as my office. 

I got a lot done. Folks knew if the door was closed then things were happening “at the office.” I rarely left the door closed just so folks would leave me alone. Okay, I did it more often than I should have and they caught on which hindered my ability to just close the door and walk away. 

But I digress.

Things got done when I set a space, set up parameters for my work, and then I used them both. But what do you do when people don’t honor the space, the parameters, or your need to use them?

One word.

I can’t control what other people do. Believe me, there are a LOT of things around me that would go differently if I had that ability.

I can control how I respond and I react to what the people around me do (or don’t do). 

One different word.

I may not be able to write what I’d planned to write, but I can write something. Sometimes just writing “one word” starts the flow that someone blocked with their stop sign.

One more word.

I don’t always have a say in when the stop demand will happen – mainly because the stop sign weilder ignored my own signs – but I can write one more word before I give in to their demands.

It all starts with one word. 

If you are going to write your story, write your articles, write your heart . . . you have to write one word.

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