Writing. . .ugh!

I've been suffering lately from "Senior-itis" (which should not be confused with "The Itis" which is something totally different). I'm only taking one writing class this semester and it only meets once a week, but I can't seem to focus, or frankly, care much about it.

But here are some thoughts on my process:

I haven't written anything new in a while but I finally have a grip on this whole revision thing. I have learned this semester that I write to help me understand some "thing", not just to be clever or share a story. Previously I thought I wrote because I had something to say, but now I realize I write because I have something to learn. (Sure that sounds arrogant, Welcome to the School of Me: Everything I Write is Law, Dogma, Truth etc.). So I write a story and then it takes on a life of its own. The story becomes a "thing" in and of itself that must be dealt with, wrestled, made to obey. For the story to work successfully, it must be made more fluid, and the Idea that I was chasing/sharing/understanding must be brought into a sharper focus. That's when it's time to take out distractions, filler, other crap, etc.

This extraneous stuff comes from me having a vague idea of the Idea. So as I'm writing and searching I get a vague impression of what I'm truly trying to understand. I've been told my writing has a certain mysterious quality about it and I think this is where it comes from. I don't notice it really until someone points it out, and, hey, I can't help not enjoying mystery since I was raised by a hard core Roman Catholic and indoctrinated into the Great Mystery blah blah blah you get the idea.

So I think I'm closer to understanding my aesthetic. Or am I?

Today's post doesn't contribute much to the greater good, but it gives me a good start for an assignment due today.