Fail again

I’ve had this idea for a recurring blogging feature/angle ever since I knew that we were repatriating and my “expat observations” would be soon drying up. Which means, I’ve been considering it for roughly 18 months now.

The concept was fairly simple: An essay about each place that I’ve become familiar with on our travels, aimed at describing “my perfect day” in each locale. After all, I have favorite vistas, corners, sights, restaurants, etc, everywhere I’ve been to, and thinking about them always brings back good memories. And I noticed long ago that I only enjoy writing about things that I find enjoyable.

I was procrastinating with starting the series, I had other projects, then I got busy with the newborn, then I got extra busy at work, then I resumed coming to office most of the days of the week (which eats up a fair portion of my day)… But I did form in my head several outlines of the essays about most obvious targets – Prague, Paris, Venice, London.

The last couple of days the work let up a little bit, and I figured I could attempt the first post in the series.

… and miserably failed.

I know all of the places that I want to talk about. I know why I want to talk about them. I have a pretty good idea of what sequence to put them in. I’ve got some interesting – at least, I think they are – observations and occurrences that I can spice up the proceedings with.

And yet, it does not come together for me. I labor over passages, I struggle with varying my delighted adjectives, I can’t achieve any depth of exposure. My penmanship makes the stuff that I should always be excited about into boring drivel.

I suspect my writer gene is completely dead, if I ever had one. A bit disheartening, really, even if I never had any designs on being a writer.