Writing About Nothing...not really!

Seinfeld had no one topic or story line in his TV show and got away with creating a television series about "nothing." He readily admits that in interviews he has done and in his nightclub act. He got rich on it and was able to essentially retire on his earnings. He also admits that his "talent" is God-given to him and that it was up to him to use it to the best of his ability.

Don't we all wish we could create something and make enough money on it to retire? To have that one thought in your head to expand on and make something out of it. It does not have to be about writing. It can be an invention idea, a resource for a particular segment of the public to use, or even a talent, like singing or playing an instrument.

All of these things are God-given to us and it is up to us as to how we use them.

Or not.

In another part of my life, I am a writer. I make a fairly decent living from it and rarely talk about it in this venue. I write under a pseudonym and also did some ghost writing for a New York publishing house. I probably won't get rich on it or make enough to be able to retire. But it is a God-given talent, and sometimes I feel like it is wasting away.

It is something I enjoy doing and the living I make is not riches by any means, nor am I able to retire on it, if I were to do it full time.

I have noticed over the last ten years or so, that my brain doesn't work the way it always has in the past. It is clearly a sign that my Multiple Sclerosis is gradually affecting different body parts and getting worse. Sometimes I will type out my thought and when I check the screen, it says something different. A lot of times it is because my thought got ahead of my fingers. Other times it is because I am not paying attention to what I am "doing" while I am thinking it out.

I have had deadlines I have to follow and lately I am not able to come in on deadline. Be it fatigue, lack of motivation, idea deprivation, distractions, or whatever - I am behind alot.

I try to dedicate three hours a day to writing. Some days it is eight to ten hours, other days it is one to two hours. Depends on how well the thoughts are flowing.

Or not.

I find some days I am rather forgetful - it helps to refer to them as Alzheimer moments. My family calls them MS moments. Anyway you look at it, I do forget. A lot.

So, I do a lot of revisions.

In fact my writing day starts with reading what I wrote the day before and revising it as needed. Often my ideas will continue from there and I will be able to continue writing. Other days, my gazillion post it notes steer the direction of my writing. I have only had one lonnnnng dry spell in all my writing years when I was ill and it seriously takes a great deal of motivation and ideas to snap out of it.

Seinfeld got away with writing about nothing. I can't afford that luxury. My writing has to be on topic (if assigned to me) or be interesting enough to hold one's attention. In the end, it has to be sale-able or it sits in the idea pile.

When I read about Seinfeld basing his show on "nothing", that is when I created an idea pile for "nothing" and believe it or not, there are some great ideas in there.

I just need to create a story around the nothingness.

It can be done.

Seinfeld proved it!

© June 2005, Anne DiGeorge