In the Dark During Bowl Week

Copyright © 2007, Steven E. Houchin. All rights reserved.
( Originally written 27 December 2007 )

Okay, I admit it. My time spent writing has been almost non-existent during the holidays. I’m not one of those “up at 4 a.m. and write for three hours” kind of superheroes you read about in author interviews. It’s Christmas, after all, with shopping, wrapping, cards, sugary cookies (zzzz…), and a slippery, snowy drive across the state and back. Am I expected to pour out paragraphs while creeping across the pass in second gear at 10 mph?

Oh, and now it’s Bowl Week. How am I supposed to work on deep character development when BYU and UCLA come down to a last second, failed, chip-shot field goal? Or when Boise State ties East Carolina on a miracle fumble recovery with 90 seconds left, only to lose by a field goal with zero left on the clock? I’M ONLY HUMAN!

Maybe it’s the dark, short, gloomy days. Yeah, that must be it. The weather sapped my creative energy and drowned me in winter’s funk. It raps at my window with big wet drops and whipsaws my trees more than I think they can stand. Can I really write when a huge cedar may crash into my house at any minute? Plus, there’s moss spreading all across my yard….

Then I look at the schedule of literary contests coming up in the new year. A whole bunch have January and February deadlines, and me with nothing to submit. So, do I quickly slap something together, throw it into the pile, and hope that my possible competitors were ... let’s see ... watching BOWL GAMES? I’d really hate to just write off (so to speak) these early 2008 contests.

Oh, Oregon State and Maryland are about to kick off. Let’s see, if I just get up tomorrow morning at 4 a.m....