Is it OK to write when you have nothing to say?

I’ve always thought of writer’s block as a form of mental hypochondria. I’ve long had the ability to write something. The challenge has always been to determine whether that “something” was worth writing about. This has become more challenging since I’ve retired.

I’ve had a long and happy professional sideline of writing for professional publication. Over the course of my 40+ year career I wrote 149 articles, 246 columns, 7 books (plus 2 second editions), a children’s short story, a few published letters to newspaper editors, and over 3000 blog posts. (See links to most of these off my website https://sites.google.com/view/dougjohnsonweb/.)

Finding a topic for a column or article was never difficult because my job as school technology director and library supervisor rapidly evolved as technology kept sticking its snout between the pickets of established practice in schools. A new device, application, policy, or measurement needed to be considered every month, it seemed. What should teachers know and be able to do with computers on their desks? What kind of restrictions should be placed on student uses of technology? What is the role of e-books in school library collections? What is the role of the school librarian in the implementation of new technologies in schools? Each new question was fodder for a column or blog post; enough columns and posts could be organized into a book. I may well have bored others, but I rarely bored myself.

Changes as a result of technology came so fast and furiously that academic research and the formulation of best practices based on research could not keep up. We were all flying by the seat of our pants. My writings described action-based research and, well, maybe just making stuff up as we went along. 

Now over four years into retirement, my circumstances have changed. The problems and challenges I face today are personal rather than professional. I find myself in a huge demographic cohort - the aging. And AARP seems to know I need solutions to problems I didn't even know I had! Those writing about best financial practices, good health information, and practical travel advice are so numerous and diverse, I usually find there is little for me to add to discussions around these topics.

So where does that leave a writer who enjoys not just writing, but writing for a purpose? Perhaps the purpose has to change…

In “Why I Write for Publication” (2001), I concluded with one of favorite quotes from Fredrick Manfred:

…Open up and let go.

 Even if it’s only blowing. But blast.

And I say this loving my God.

Because we are all he has at last.

So what about it, boy?

Is your work going well?

Are you still lighting lamps

Against darkness and hell?

In writing to help improve education, I did feel I was in some small way “lighting lamps against darkness and hell.” Today, that darkness is more internal than external. I write because it gives me something to do. I write because it helps me clarify my own thinking on difficult topics. 

At my age, I also use my writing as sort of a mental well-being check. Yes, the doctor at my annual physical asks me to remember three words and draw a clock that tells a certain time. I tend to blow off occasional memory lapses (what’s the name of the actor who played…,) having had such slips for many years and knowing that most of my friends have brain farts as well. But writing tests another level of mental ability, perhaps something a little deeper. At least I hope so. 

Perhaps I already given the best rationale for writing when I tried to figure out why I blogged for so many years:

“As it's turned out, I've continued to write simply because it has been so dang much fun. I amuse myself on a fairly regular basis, and if when doing so I amuse you as well, so much the better. I love the comments - both contrary and supportive. And I enjoy the simple freedom of having no editor other than one's own conscience.”  (Why the Blue Skunk Blog?)

And it gets tedious playing solitaire all day, every day.

Where next to travel?

 

Very useful book!

As fate would have it, I managed to travel this summer to two of the most over-touristed places on the planet - Venice, Italy and Yosemite, California. While I still managed to have a very good time in both places (using strategies such as getting an early start on the day, being with a lovely travel companion), the crowds made the trips less than ideal. 

Having learned from my experiences, I am taking a more thoughtful approach to planning my next big trip(s). Ideally, I would like to take a two week trip in November and another month-long trip in January or February to escape the Minnesota cold for a bit. And I worry I am getting a bit of a late start. And it feels weird not to have an answer when someone asks, "Where is your next big trip?"

There are some well-recognized strategies for avoid over-touristed areas:

1. Go in the off season or shoulder season. Most people, primarily families, vacation during the northern hemisphere’s summer months. School is out. The weather in the US and Europe is warm. Travel during the fall months tends to be picking up for those who have flexible vacation dates. Late spring is lovely in Europe. Winter is great in South America. One does need to use caution when traveling to places like SE Asia and Central America since they both have rainy seasons and tend to be very hot and humid year-round. 
2. Go to less mainstream destinations. This one is a little trickier. If your goal is to see the Mona Lisa, a vacation in a small town in Provence isn’t going to be satisfying. But if you want to hike, bike,  or sit on a beach, you can find plenty of places off the beaten path if you dig a little. I see more and more travel companies and websites advertising “off the beaten path” suggestions.
3. Rely on a professional travel company. In my encroaching senility, I find that a professional travel agent can be of invaluable service. They can help one figure out how to answer the when and where to go questions. Do they get some form of compensation for their work that may cost you a little extra? Of course, but a little more cost upfront may be more than offset by a great time. (I have used MacsAdventures, Knowmad, Grasshopper, SE Tours, Road Scholar, and Boat Bike Tours with happy results.)

Things get a little more complicated for me since I have some personal criteria for my travels:

1. I like them to be active. Big cruise ships or sitting on a bus or staying in an all inclusive beach resort - no thanks. Biking or hiking - yes!
2. I want to see new countries. I’ve now visited around 60 countries and ideally would like to add one new one each year.
3. I don’t want to wind up spending my children’s entire inheritance. I don’t need (or want) 5 star hotels. I prefer local restaurants and street food to fancy restaurants. I would prefer to travel economically and more often. Or maybe I am just cheap.
4. I want to travel sometimes by myself. Sometimes with my SO. And sometimes with my family. Great reward is to be found in each type of travel.

Good travel is the result of not just knowing where and when you want to go, but knowing yourself as well. I always view travel as a learning experience. That helps when the crowds get claustrophobic. 

Your observations/advice about travel?

Constructive criticism

Image source: https://reallifeofanmsw.com/2020/05/10/constructive-criticism-3/

Few people like criticism. But most of us can gain from it.

A friend and I were talking about some suggestions made by an editor of his latest book. She called into question the term “master bedroom." - “master” conjuring up the era of slavery and all of its injustices. Yeah, I can see that, as could my friend.

I was once admonished for using the phrase “cracking the whip” when assuring a coworker that I would have my tech staff work on a problem without delay. When I used the term, I was thinking mules as the historical reference to the illusion. She was thinking enslaved persons. I can see that too. I no longer use the saying.

After reading a manuscript of one of my books, a friend noted that I wrote “somewhat unique." “The word ‘unique' cannot have qualifiers. It is an absolute. A thing is either unique or it is not.” I stood corrected and remain so to this day. And I silently moan when others say “somewhat unique” or similar.

After a professional presentation, a librarian told me that I was racist. “Why do you say that?” I asked. “Because your slideshow showed not a single child of color - only white students!” I explained that I used photos of the students in my own school district (filtered to remove identity), which at the time was small, rural, and majority white. But after the criticism, I made sure I included as large a sampling of different races as possible. And it really wasn’t that hard to do.

The final piece of constructive criticism that I appreciate to this day also came after giving a keynote presentation at a conference. Once again a woman (probably a librarian) asked me if I realized that throughout my talk I played with the coins and other objects in my pockets. But perhaps it looked like I was playing with something else and I should not be lecturing about education nor be allowed within 100 yards of a school. Before every talk and workshop that followed, I always removed everything from my front pants pockets and placed them in my suit jacket pockets - and kept my hands out of all my pockets.

Constructive criticism can be embarrassing. Painful. Humiliating. But should one choose to learn from it, it can be invaluable.