I’m a Collector

I’m a collector. Not the pack rat kind who hoards things because you’ll never know when you might need it. Even though it’s been broken for ten years and you can’t get parts for it. Or you can’t remember what it is or what it’s for.

 
I collect books, although I’ve grown more discerning over the years. I don’t keep every book I buy now. Periodicallythroughout the year, I’ll clean out bookshelves for donations to fellow writers, libraries, Goodwill, etc. Now that I have a Nook, even more are stored there. At least my wife doesn’t have to see or dust them.

I started as a child with baseball cards. I almost fit that cliché, I would have been a millionaire except my mother threw my baseball cards away.

I collect record albums. Around 300 at last count. For those of you who don’t know what a record album is, think of a really big CD, black with a hole in the middle.

And I collect CDs. I have no idea how many. I find them squirreled away in cubbyholes I’d long forgotten about.

And I collect quotes. Some inspire my writing. Some help me focus on my craft.

When I’m feeling stuck and uninspired, I think of these quotes:

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.” ~ Terry Pratchett

And, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” ~ Jack London

William Faulkner is quoted as saying, “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”

These remind me that writing is not waiting for some mythical muse to come down and touch me on the head with a magic wand.

They remind me that writing is work. It’s putting my butt in the chair and calling the muse to task, to write and re-write and re-write until the story is ready.

Do you have a favorite quote that helps you get into your writing?