“Write blog post” has been on my To Do List every week since roughly October.

I suck.

I know I am tempting fate when I say this, but part of me misses being unemployed (knocks on wood, spins in circle three times, throws salt over shoulder). All that time spent at the pool reading educational writing/marketing books… all that time spent on my laptop at the dining room table writing and sipping wine in the middle of the day (don’t judge, it spurs my creativity)…. all that time fretting over my finances and my future… oh wait, that’s right - being unemployed mostly sucked.

But I really miss the fact that I had the time and energy to be unnecessarily creative. I started this damn blog with gusto and, like so many other things in my life (e.g. Operation Clean Out Closet), abandoned it unfinished shortly thereafter. It appears the title - Half-Cooked Lasagna - is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Well, a few weeks ago I read a fantastic book called Naked, Drunk and Writing by Adair Lara. It was totally motivating and I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in writing. The book made me realize that the reason I find it so easy to put off writing - something I very much enjoy doing - is that I’ve been taking this blog too seriously. I’ve been struggling with its direction - What’s it supposed to be about? Who’s it supposed to be for? And now I know that really, when it comes down to it, it’s for me. Just me. It doesn’t really have to be about anything, and it’s okay if not every post is a winner. The most important purpose it serves (or should serve, as it were) is for me to practice my writing. I’m probably never going to turn into Perez Hilton or the chick from the Julie/Julia Project, and that’s okay. If it gets me in the habit of writing more often, and inspires me to pursue my goal of having an essay published somewhere, then it’s a success.

I’ve been a chronic procrastinator since probably Kindergarten, so we’ll see if I can overcome this debilitating affliction and get my ass in gear. Wish me luck!