Agonies of a Young Author

Midterms are next week, which is why I have become more and more infrequent with my postings lately, and there's really no hope for the future. Until mid-terms are over and spring break has officially arrived, I'm likely to be non-existent, provided that I get several days rest at the beginning of said spring break. However, despite all my time spent on studying and preparing for my school work, I'm really trying to also focus on writing, grabbing that odd moment or two to scribble something down, as you'll see in the body of today's post, so here I am. And for once, I'm not consciously using this as a procrastination tool, though I admit to loathing homework at the moment. 

I'm not explaining it well, but the basic gist is this-As a person, you are always thinking. There is a constant stream of thought running through your mind. You think constantly, but you create sporadically. As an author, you are operating on two worlds. The Creative Vision is like a a TV channel that is constantly on in the background, turned down low for "white noise". So as an author, I must be conscious of that parallel creative thought, find the switch and flip it on- ALL DAY, EVERYDAY. The writing everyday does not mean running around with the Creative Vision switch turned off, and then sitting down for 15 minutes and it will magically switch on. It doesn't work that way. The Muse will revolt, throw a hissy fit because she's been ignored the other 23 hours and 45 minutes. Writing everyday means thinking creatively every single minute. It means thinking about every situation, "How can I use that? How would I change it?" Every single random phrase that runs through your mind, even the half-conscious ones, must be written down, or they will be lost. They almost must be pulled out of your mind, or else they will disappear among the hordes of "normal" thoughts. I've had an unfortunate reminder this week, when I composed a poem sitting at my desk in the midst of homework. I didn't take the time to write it down, because I was doing said homework, and being arrogantly certain that I would remember it later. My Muse revolted. I now can't recall even the subject matter, much less a  single snippet of phrasing, although I know that there was a clawing hand motif in there somehow.