Looking for a cure...

My new writing gig has presented me with a challenge I haven't faced since my creative writing class in high school—writer's block. My mind is racing with ideas for blog posts, short stories and more. But writing on an assigned topic is something I haven't had to do, and it brings with it a set of problems. 

My latest story topic for the paper was to write a promo piece on the local Dog Show. For those of you who know me well, you know I am NOT a dog person. I don't like dogs. I don't like their fur. I don't like their smell. I don't like the deposits they leave in the yard. I really don't like anything about them. But I couldn't expect to write a piece to that effect and keep my still-new job.

I gathered the information, and sat on it. For nearly a week. Fortunately for me, this assignment gave me a longer than usual deadline. Every time I sat down to write, I ended up doing everything but. I surfed the net. I read blogs. I wasted time on Facebook. And the deadline got closer, and closer, and closer...

I did finally manage to get some thoughts and information down on "paper", and came to the realization that writing isn't as easy as it looks. But I've also come to the realization that the process is just as important as the end result, and with each wadded up "virtual" paper, comes a new level of skill and ability. And I need to expect to have to write about things that don't interest me at all to gain the experience needed to write something more.

In the meantime, maybe I could use some new shoes...