Every once in a while I just stop writing. Sometimes the busy-ness of life seems to drive away all of my thoughts of picking up my pen and paper. Other times, I just lose the desire, the drive, and the urge to write. My mind is worn out and tired, and refuses to be pressed for ideas and the words to give them shape. Occassionally frustration is at the root of my seeming inability to write. My frustration towards my style, inexperience, and lack of ideas can cause my lack of motivation. Fear, of rejection, of no one liking my work, of never moving past writing only for myself can also be blamed.

Now is one of those times. I think I have a combination of writer's block and a lack of time and motivation. And now I am starting to long for ideas again, which is the first step towards getting past all these obstacles in my path.

Although my reasons (or excuses) for not writing can vary, the conclusion I get from my non-writing periods never does. I always go back to it. I realize how much writing is a part of me. When I stop, I lose a part of the very essence of my being, something that makes me ME. I lose one of my greatest forms of self-expression, the release of my inner thoughts, desires, and dreams. In losing the outlet, I become sad and discouraged, without even realizing why. Then something triggers my creativity, and I know what I am missing. Writing becomes something I not only love to do and want to do, but something I must do. It's just the way I am.