Today is Tuesday. I really don’t feel like writing because I have a headache, sore throat, a bad cough and I’m weak. Here’s a conversation I had with myself before I sat down at my desk today:
“Should I write or not? I’m really not up to it. What I want to do is get in bed and sleep. No one is going to miss what I have to say, so why not take a day off and think of my health? On the other hand, I promised myself in early February that I would write an essay each week for a whole year and post it on my website. I have to keep to my word.”
If a writer is sicker than a dog, should he or she take a day off and go to bed?
Well, as you can see, a writer should NOT take a day off from writing. I learned this from William Saroyan and Ernest Hemingway, both of whom wrote every day no matter how sick or hungover they were. And so that’s what I’m doing, feeling like a dirty rag, but still writing.
You can be sure, though, that as soon as I finish this piece, I’m going straight to bed with the hope of regaining my health as soon as possible.