Day One: Not A Diary!

So here I am.  Day one of retirement.  (It is a bit "early" for it but a very far cry from "techno-megabuck-buyout early.")

As it says in the title, this will not be a "diary of my days in retirement," for if it were, I'd have to shoot myself (and I don't own a gun, so I'd have to buy one, but that's against my principles, and things would get messy - pun intended - and...), 'nuff said.

The single biggest thing I can think of on day one is... drum roll... ready..?  I'm writing.

Not really a big deal. But then again, it is.

One of the great 'chestnuts' about writers and writing has always been, "write every day."  My response to that has (in a logical yet defensive voice), "yeah right... fuck that!"

To elaborate... My writing (pretty much exclusively screenplays), has occurred while I worked a full time job.  I drove, very close to every Friday night to our weekend house where chores, socializing and "chilling out" were pretty much the reason for being there. Sunday was drive home time.

That left Monday through Thursday nights for writing.  Some nights were unavailable due to various commitments (social, entertainment, etc.).  If I was lucky, I had an average of 3.5 nights, and another average of about 3 hours or less each of those nights, to write  each week.  In under ten years, I wrote six and a half screenplays (three full length, two shorts, one long short and one I abandoned after struggling with it for over a year).

Not bad for a "part time" writer but the notion, the "rule" that I "had to" write every day, not only just couldn't really work for me, but I found it unnecessary (see... logical AND defensive).

Which brings me back to today.  Day one.  The "urge" (need?) to write must have been lurcking somewhere as I just simply had to fire up the laptop, and "do that thing."

Yet, as we all know, the proof will be in the pudding  and be it chocolate or rice, I do love my pudding.