I love writing. But I find getting going is hard. I end up putting much more effort into trying to produce a perfect cup of tea than the perfect paragraph. As I jiggle my tea bag I wish I was jiggling my pen. And as I pour the milk I wish I was writing on a fresh blank creamy page.

I wish I could produce as many pieces of writing as I produce cups of tea. But I always seem to fall into the same old pattern. Let me describe a typical day…

Cup of tea

First I make one cup of tea. It is the only thing that’s gets me out of bed in the morning. I then take it back to bed with me. I sit up in bed with my tea and I tell myself I am getting closer to my goal of picking up a pen. But despite my good intentions, my desk remains vacant and the bed still occupied.

I remain in bed. I sit fully upright and fully awake. But I then decide to study the room rather than do research for my writing. Having given up on writing for the moment, I try to make myself feel better by making yet another cup of tea. Naturally I bring the tea back to bed with me. I continue to hold the tea cup rather than my pen.

I wish I could all of this is just a storm in a teacup. But it is actually hard when half of your morning bubbles over into cups of tea.

Finally get up

When I finally decide to get up I switch on the computer. But this is as far as I get. I don’t even bother to sit down at the desk. Instead, I head straight to the CD player. I allow myself to play with the track buttons rather than my computer keyboard. I leave my computer to sulk in the corner as I feed more music into my CD player.

I soon wish I could devote as much time to my writing as I do listening to music. I really wish I could get into it as much as listening to music. But it is easier when all the words are there for you rather than having to create them. It is much easier to listen to hits than produce my own little masterpieces.

When I finally go over to the computer, I am too distracted by the background music to write. In no time at all, I have sprung up from my chair like a jack-in-the-box to make myself yet another cup of tea. I end up drinking it to the flow of the music. Quickly it all becomes another wasted morning...

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