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| This is not me. I feels like me, but it's not. |
I’m still writing! It sounds strange for someone who calls
herself a writer, teaches writing, and publishes writers to announce that
writing is indeed happening, but it is and it makes me happy to say it. As I’ve
said previously, I was worried that all of my creativity was being spent in
other places, but it turns out, nope, I just needed a few moments where I
wasn’t worrying about someone else’s writing to focus on mine. So, writing is
happening. Completing writing... that’s another story.
Focus. That has been a loaded word for me lately. Yes, I've been writing, but…I haven’t been able to concentrate on any one particular
story or essay for long periods of time. My mind wanders more than it used to. I
was blaming my concentration problems previously on being overworked,
overextending myself, or generally not taking time to rest. While to a certain
extent this may play a role in my problem, I’ve recently discovered that it is
possible that my lack of focus and concentration could be from the car accident a few months back. See, I’m still suffering from whiplash. I do have a
follow-up appointment with my doctor next week to check the extent of the
damage. I am hoping that there are therapeutic options to fixing it, but I am
afraid that I may have spinal cord damage. Of course, I’ve been playing
internet doctor and, based on my symptoms of constant mild headaches, tinnitus,
and never-ending pain in my neck and shoulders, I have self-diagnosed to the
point I am scared it may be worse than I originally thought. It’s called
chronic whiplash. An inability to concentrate for long periods is also one of the
symptoms. It makes me tired. I don’t want to do much once I’ve worked a full
day. It’s hard for me to even think about socializing.
Am I going to let this keep me from writing? No, of course
not. Will it slow me down? Probably. At least I’m still writing, as long as I
remember where I was when I started staring off into space!