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December 2, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a deceptively simple question, really. I only have to change one little thing. Except I’m the kind of person who worries about the domino effect. If I change this one little thing, what else breaks? For example, the day I got out early and got sideswiped on the way home. That wouldn’t have happened if I left work at my normal time, right?<\/p>\n Or how about the time I got stuck in a long line at the grocery store? Sure, I was saying bad words and pushing the speed limit on the way home. Until I saw a guy in a motorized wheelchair barely moving. I pulled over to see if there was something wrong. Turns out his battery had run down, but help was already on the way. I stayed and talked to him until his family got there. Nothing earth-shaking about the incident, but if the timing hadn’t been perfect the encounter wouldn’t have happened.<\/p>\n So, maybe it’s all part of the butterfly effect. You know, if a butterfly flaps<\/p>\n Image by \u0418\u0433\u043e\u0440\u044c \u041b\u0435\u0432\u0447\u0435\u043d\u043a\u043e<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n it’s wings in the Amazon a tornado happens in Texas. It’s part of the chaos theory. One simple, small change can have a much bigger consequence.<\/p>\n As a result, the initial question\u2014one thing I would give up to become a better writer\u2014makes me nervous. What would the unintended side effect be? If I spent less time cleaning house and more time reading, would war break out in Canada? (I know, that’s extreme. It was supposed to be!)<\/p>\n I can’t give up watching TV. because I did that years ago. Giving up reading would have the opposite effect- I firmly believe that as a writer you should also be a reader. I suppose I could spend less time on the biggest time waster of all, the internet, but I never know when something I stumble across may be the spark for a new story.<\/p>\n But there is one thing I’d be willing to spend last time on\u2014playing games on the computer. Sure, I do it mostly while I’m searching for the right words to use, but it’s easy to play two games instead of one. And I can’t imagine which part of the chaos theory that would trigger. I think it’s a safe solution. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n I hope all of you out there are still safe. No tornadoes, right? I can’t help the winter storms\u2014they started before I made the change. Now, as is my habit, no change there, I’m off to find out what the other authors would change.<\/p>\n P.S.\u00a0 But you could make one little change for me…I’d love it if you would leave a comment.<\/p>\n December 2, 2019<\/p>\n What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?<\/p>\n Rules: \u00a0<\/p>\n \r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pjmaclayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/butterfly-2049567_1920-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\")
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