I think the title of this blog reflects my current ability to title works of writing. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions and drama and word counts. A week that’s made me think about writers and addictions. It’s almost like the chicken and the egg question.
As any of my long time followers (from FB and other places) will know I quit smoking on January 13th of this year. I used nicotine gum as my form of nicotine replacement therapy. It’s more than three months later and I’m still on it. I’m working on cutting down and every time I do I have the symptoms all over again of quitting. I know a lot of people would say just go cold turkey! It’s only 24 milligrams of nicotine a day. Not all of it even makes it into your bloodstream. Quitting cold turkey isn’t for me at this point. I won’t bore you with all the reasons why. Protecting my quit is very important to me. It’s my biggest will power accomplishment ever. Yes, this from the woman who writes everyday most of the year. Writing is easy. It’s not writing that’s hard. Even when I need to take a break.
All of this thinking has made me add a topic of writers and addiction to my to blog about eventually. It’s everywhere. You see the jokes about full ashtrays and a million empty coffee cups. Sometimes it’s wine glasses. I don’t really drink. Maybe a glass every year or two. So, that’s not my poison of choice, but it’s out there. Not all writers have any of these addictions, but it’s prevalent enough to acquire memes to support the stereotype.
Yes, I wrote more before I quit smoking. Yes, it was easier, but going back isn’t an option for me. So, I can only go through the process of quitting. I’m a little less than 8k words away from the finish line of my 50k Camp Nano goal. I don’t need cigarettes to write, but I do miss them. I wrote 2,091 words today. Now, I’m off to embrace the fog of nicotine withdrawal until my brain adjusts or tomorrow morning arrives to clear it for a little while.
Maggie Hemlock Books 