to James Taylor’s Live CD, disc 1

Go.

rvw: I can’t get my groove on this summer. Here’s hoping jumping back on the 15 on the Fives wagon might help. Countless reasons why this is so, and they all seem out of my control, for the most part.

muse: They are out of your control. I think it’s time to let them go (you can’t control them anyway) and get back into the groove here.

rvw: You mean with writing?

muse: Of course I mean with writing. When have I ever failed you? Think back on those times when all of life seemed so extreme; who was there for you?

rvw: Well, you of course.

muse: That’s right. And you and I–we did great things every single time you fought off the, the–what do you call him again? The Censor?

rvw: That’s one name for him. The Censor’s a good name. I like Watcher at the Gates a little more, though. Seems like there’s fewer connotations with that title.

watcher: Both names suck.

rvw: See? It doesn’t really matter what I call him. He hates everything.

muse: Tell me about it. Do you realize how much you could achieve if you just shut him up just a little more each day?

watcher: I heard that, you little drama queen. “Oh, I’m the muse. Don’t hurt me.” Puh-lease. You both are pathetic.”

muse: I really hate that guy.

rvw: Me too. But he keeps coming back. Every time I go to pick up the pen, he stirs in my head and begins his little campaign of personal attacks.

muse: Hey, it’s an election year. You might want to put that into a creative piece about writing and the way in which we’re all faced with the inevitable presence of negativity in our writing lives…

watcher: Brilliant as such a piece may be because it is about me, it’ll never work. Your audiences are all screwed up and twisted. But nice try. Your rooms are filthy, by the way. You need to clean them.

rvw: I love the idea, muse. So, if I were to run with this, I could focus on other relevant topics, like waging a war against the terrors within. . .

watcher: …And those dishes. Can they be piled any higher? Ugh. You disgust me.

muse: Exactly! Go ahead and do a free write on it and see where it takes you. What can it hurt?

watcher: HEY. THAT’S ENOUGH, YOU TWO.

rvw. You’re right, muse. It can’t hurt anything or anybody to do a free write except, well, you-know-who.

watcher: As much as I like the comparison, I think you have to go now. The kids are waking and the cats are puking and the phone’s ringing and. . . .

rvw: Thanks, muse. I’m off to do that free write. Suddenly I feel like I got my groove on again. . . .

muse: You are welcome. Just don’t stray so far again. Stay with me, and keep your groove.

rvw: Right. It’s you and me.

muse: You and me.

(long pause)

watcher: Hello? Anybody there? Aren’t you going to do something about this filthy desk? And you call yourself a writer…..Hello?

Stop.

A note to my readers: 15 on the Fives is written twice-daily at 5:16 a.m. and 5:16 p.m. At times, I write these entries online. These entries are what I call “vomit” or discovery drafts, where I write uninhibited for 15 minutes. There are no rules about topics, content, form, grammar, or spelling. The only rule is that I don’t stop writing. By following this one rule, I almost always discover something new in my writing, and more often than not, I find a seed or two for future pieces I feel I can take to publication. Give it a whirl; there’s nothing to lose (but 15 minutes, of course!).