It’s a LOT more fun to write than to rewrite.

One moment the page is blank. Within a few minutes, the page is half-filled.

One moment, it is a small spark in the brain. The next, it is a living, breathing organism—a grouping of thoughts begging to be a story.

Sometimes the ideas come so fast that there’s no time to check for grammar, spelling, or errors of any kind. They spill out and if they aren’t acknowledged right away, they fade. It’s hard to recoup them. Often, it’s not possible.

So, like many of you, I carry a pad of paper in my purse and a notebook in my car. If an idea comes into my head, I pull over and scribble it down. If I’m in a restaurant, a napkin may have to suffice. In the doctor’s office, I once wrote down an idea on the paper liner from the exam table. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

So what happens when you are in the middle of writing and someone calls you to say, partake of luscious ribs from the grill?

That’s what just happened to me in the middle of writing this blog. My husband  announced that the ribs were ready an hour earlier than I had expected.

I closed down my writing program and graced my husband with my presence at the table. The ribs were great and I wasn’t sorry I let them interrupt my writing.

But now I am back in front of the computer and I’m stalling…

I’ve lost my momentum, my train of thought. I’ve forgotten where I was headed with all of this. 

So, I’ll give this what I call the “Fifteen Minute Rule.”  If, within the space of fifteen minutes, I haven’t written anything meaningful, I’ll shut my computer down. 

Power off.

Because it is much more fun to write. Not so much fun to rewrite. 

It’s not as exciting when you’ve lost that edge, that quirky way of expressing something ordinary in a new and different way that makes us all sit up and take notice.

So, go ahead and have a plate of delicious ribs. But, as for me, I think I’ll pass—next time.

[Rewritten from an earlier blog post.]