40 Days to more imaginative writing

I just completed Day 1 of a 40 day exercise designed to help you be a more creative writer.  It took me long enough to start it, which annoys me because that seems to be my biggest hurdle right now.  Just being afraid to start.  When I write a blog post, or even think about writing one, I worry about the fact that I don't have a topic to expound on or that what I write will not be interesting.  I need to learn to silence that inner critic, because all it does is stop me from trying or even just playing.  I realized while doing this first exercise that I have not written fiction in years.  I have a notebook full of one page blurbs of ideas, dreams, thoughts, even possible topics for a stand up routine, but none of it has ever been put to use.  I think that should stop soon.  I will go back to that notebook and mine for any nuggets of gold that may have been laid there after waking from an odd dream or having a strange idea pop into my head while doing a massage.  Just starting is the hardest part.  And now that I've started this exercise, it will help me to at least write a little every day.  In fact, just writing for the ten minutes of the exercise made me want to write more, and here I am posting.  So it already has had some good effects. 

I just got back from a week in Orlando with my mother looking for apartments and jobs.  I found a wonderful apartment complex that I'm thrilled about and I can't wait to move in.  The catch 22 that I was caught in; needing a job to be approved for an apartment and needing to live in Orlando before I could interview for jobs, has been solved by my parents signing off for me on the apartment.  We saw some beautiful spas and resorts that I will definitely be applying to, and the area I will be living in could not be nicer.  The apartment is on a quiet, tree-surrounded street free of tourist cars, in literally the backyard of Disney World.  I will be able to see (or at least hear) the fireworks every night. *sigh*  It's finally happening.  My near-lifelong dream of living in Orlando is almost ready to happen.  Every day I lose a little bit more fear of the unknown, and gain a bit more confidence about my ability to make this work.  The next dream after I'm all settled there will be to become fully self-employed; to not work under anyone but myself.  I think it could happen eventually, but I'm hoping sooner than later.  I have to be realistic though; I don't expect to be a booming pet sitting business by the end of one year, and I don't expect to have a novel published in 2 years.  But I do know that when the time is right and I have worked as hard as I can without backing down, then what I want out of life will happen for me. 

Perhaps the thing I have needed all this time was not something to write about, but to give myself permission to write, no matter the subject matter.  That, too, is starting to happen.
Life is good.  Here's to change. Salut!