“The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.” WILLIAM GOLDMAN

“The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.” WILLIAM GOLDMAN

I disagree with this immensely. As a writer, not writing can actually be bloody hard. Not writing often results in the urge and need to write and that feeling of guilt when it doesn’t happen. You start narrating things in your head more often, trying different words and twisting them altogether because you have a basic need to write – to create something and to make sense of the mess inside your head.

This doesn’t always mean writing prose or anything like that, it can simply be writing something like this – a small blog post or journal entry. Not all of what you write will be read, and not all of what you think will be written. But there is nearly always a need to write. So, not writing – not so easy. It’s like a smoker not smoking, or a coffee addict laying off the coffee, as writing is very much a drug.

I can understand how a person could come to the conclusion that not writing is easy, as writers aren’t constantly sitting at their keyboards, pounding out words and sentences, or sitting with their pens and writing on walls and flesh because they’ve ran out of paper. Also, procrastinating and putting writing off can be pretty easily done, especially when you find one of those websites with those funny pictures of cute animals or a new mindless game to get addicted to, but eventually, the withdrawal sets it.

As a writer, sometimes, not writing can be just as difficult as writing. Unlike some jobs, you can’t switch it off. I work as a checkout operator part time, but when my shift is finished, that’s it – I don’t sit at home thinking about which exciting item I’ll put through during my next shift (though maybe I should, as it might liven it up a little). But as a writer, the only time the writing bug isn’t niggling at me is when I’m truly distracted or when my brain has fried and just can’t think anymore. Even when I work on the checkout, I’ll think about writing and I always like to keep my notepad handy in case I think any thoughts are worth writing down. If I can’t write those thoughts down, there’s a possibility I’ll forget them and that... that drives me nuts and makes me feel antsy.

So in conclusion. No. I do not think that the easiest thing to do on earth is not write. Eating chocolate however... that is pretty damn easy.