Use Well the Days

I have been listening compulsively to "Use Well the Days," sung by Annie Lennox, which is a bonus track on the Return of the King soundtrack. (Lyrics and mp3 file can be found here. It's gorgeous.) I have been thinking specifically about the admonishment "Use Well the Days," which is something Galadriel says to Aragorn as they are about to leave Lothlorien. It reminds me of the story of the parable of the talent which the servant hid in the ground rather than investing, to the disgust of his master. To me, personally, that story has always been about exercising my writing talent, rather than letting it go unused.

I have not been using my days well. I've been frittering my time away on . . . oh well, never mind. I haven't been writing. It's time I got back to it. There are a couple of things that have blocked me on the book. One is a plot puzzle, which kijjohnson and minnehaha B have told me repeatedly I shouldn't get hung up on. And the other thing is a Thing About Sex in the book, which has stopped me writing out of sheer embarrassment. Am not ready to talk about it yet, if ever.

But I promise to open the diary file for the book and freewrite for awhile to try to get to the bottom of the problem. And I have saved my screensaver to read: I told no lies, and of the Truth all I could . . . Use well the Days . . .

Writing this LiveJournal is both helpful and annoying. I have talked about my novel here, and wonder of wonders, you people all expect me now to go out and write it. I now have not just my own guilt to manage; I feel as if I have been letting you all down. That's probably a good thing, if it gets me moving again.

It is time to get back to work.