"Un-Chekhov"

I learned three things today:

1. Anton Chekhov was probably one of the best short story writers ever.
2. You can’t compose a short story in a day (more so if you lack inspiration!).
3. Starting a new blog is a lot harder than continuing an old one.

I barely finished Anton Chekhov’s The Shoemaker and The Devil, when I found myself nodding. The handout was probably correct; reading the works of this Russian dramatist can teach one more about short story writing than any creative writing professor. Engaging and imaginative, I guess the appeal of his writings lie also in its ability to speak to a wide audience.

In between return demos, trips to hospitals (for research purposes), trips to the seminary (for Christology research), trips to Samar (for the beaches!), worksheets, quizzes, and long exams, I tried to squeeze in a day this week allotted to writing a short story for Lit. Sounds like a great plan, until you have writer’s block. Not fun. You twist and turn, walk back and forth, binge on anything you can chow down, you decide to sit and just “get it over with”. As soon as you position your pen over your paper- nothing. Can I just use the stories I already made? Nope, I already gave the exposition of the story I was supposed to write (which turned out one of those stories I never finish). Damn!

New account, check! Header, check! Concept, check! It sounded exciting to get the ball rolling, but as I tried to get a widget for the new blog, I realized other tasks that need to be accomplished. Templates, label clouds, counters, links.. The list goes on and on. I decided the easier thing to do was to just stick with the old one.

I think most bloggers go through that phase of “uncertainty” (Where is this going? How will this turn out? What if I try this?). It could be boredom, the lack of ideas, tired of critiques from wannabe critics, or simply just lack the time- whatever the reason, it certainly allows one to reevaluate the motives of blogging. With renewed clarity, I turned on my laptop to make this entry. Perhaps the idea for the short story will surface soon enough.. I’ll let you know.