Monday, April 4, 2011

Writer’s Block

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She sits at her typewriter, tears offering to come more readily than words.

Her scattered thoughts, her random ideas, are at the moment,  adding up to nothing.

It’s not as if she could walk away though.  Writing, she understands, is as much a part of her as her own name.  But right now, her belief that she is a writer, with something meaningful to say, is laughing at her behind her back. 

She sighs, and makes a wish.

Carefully, she removes the blank, white, mocking sheet  from her typewriter, and fetching a pair of scissors cuts the paper into a  square.  Folding it first one way, and then another, she finds that  this task, at least, comes easily.

She sets the first perfect crane in front of herself, and reaches for another piece of paper.

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An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will be granted their wish by a crane.

8 comments:

  1. I agree! I wonder what kind of a wish she could get for say, 10 cranes...

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  2. This is such a beautiful way to describe how so many of us feel about writing. I constantly struggle to call myself a writer. Thanks for this Valerie!

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  3. I could never make paper cranes. I always wanted to learn origami, but apparently my brain doesn't think that way!

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  4. Thank you Kim. This is how I feel some days too-like I don't deserve the title because I can't come up with anything. But like you Melissa, I can't fold a paper crane either. I've tried. I guess I'd just have to go bake chocolate chip cookies, instead:) And thanks for your comment, too :)

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  5. Well now, that's one way to become a writer. But it seems she does have that necessary quality to write ... determination!

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  6. I once saw 1000 origami cranes strung into a mobile. It was really quite beautiful.

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  7. Joanne-hopefully somewhere during the folding of the thousand cranes she will get inspired!

    Tina-I bet it WAS really beautiful!!

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