Putting By

I love the light of autumn. The slant of the sun gilds everything. The light coming in my dining room window is most golden. Two walnut trees on my parking strip look lit inside. The magpie’s working them fly away with fat nuts as fast as they can. That’s all right, too, because I’ve already gathered my share.

I’ve always put by. For as long as I’ve been married, I’ve gathered basic supplies for winter. In the early years of my marriage, it was necessary as my husband worked for the railroad and lay-offs were inevitable.

Over the years, I’ve found the principle sound. I gather winter squash, carrots and potatoes to root cellar, put by a supply of paper towels, napkins and such, stock up on canned soup, tomatoes, jams,(or preserve them myself,) canned and dry milk, freeze or can vegetables, (I use to buy canned vegetables, but I’m suppose to avoid salt) stock up on hamburger, chicken, roasts, and medicine. I try to have enough of everything that no winter storm finds me without necessary supplies or sick without needed medicine.

This year this seems an especially smart idea. A minimum of two weeks of basics would take me past any critical problem, a little more would be even better.

I think the same principle applies to writing. Make sure you have a good supply of paper, notebooks, pens and printer ink. Have a book or two you’ve wanted to read on writing (sometimes you’re too sick to write or your tending a sick loved one) as well as a few fiction.
More importantly, gather a list, or better yet, several lists of things you want to write. I keep a running list each for my blog, poetry, essays, short stories and novels. I flag the most interesting (I use a movable flag. My interest might change). I keep those lists in a file next to my desk. I’ve found if I’m not getting anywhere with one thing, I’ll work on another. Soon enough, a solution to the first problem will come to me. I believe if you write, if you keep your fingers moving over that keyboard, you’ll get something solid.

I suffer from seasonal affective disorder, so I make sure I have a few inspirational articles near my desk. I spend a day clearing out the unnecessary from my office. I file and toss. That’s like refreshing a page. Clutter adds to depression and frustration.

Just as I don’t want to be trudging through a snowstorm because there isn’t anything in the house to fix for dinner, I want no excuse for not writing.