It's hard to write

So, I'm forcing myself to write today in the hope that it will become easier as I go along. I don't really feel like I have anything to say. I started the day watching the second half of PBS's documentary on Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). This very well may be why I'm having a hard time. He is considered one of the foremost American writers. It's hard to compete with that. Not that I feel I have to compete (and in point of fact it is difficult to directly compete with a dead man), but there is a part of me that thinks what I have to say isn't nearly as important. He had an ability of social commentary in the midst of simple stories. And, he was damn good at it. One thing that struck me though, is the abundance of writing that people accomplished during that time. There were times that he was in the middle of a novel, but still wrote letters to his family and also wrote reflections on his life and writing while doing it. I'm only mildly prolific if you count my emails which are rarely fully developed paragraphs let alone sentences, and my text messages which rarely use punctuation unless of course I'm using the punctuation to send smileys :) And while smileys convey a certain amount of mood context, I think I might be bastardizing the language. So, here in this blog, while I'm "Figuring It Out," I think I might try my best to use punctuation as it was intended and I'll do my best to explain my mood so that I won't be tempted to ;) at you if I'm joking, or :) at you if I'm happy, or :( if I'm sad. In effect, I'll allow the written word to stand up on its own and I'll allow you, the reader to determine my mood and tone.