What, you may ask, am I doing up at the late hours of the evening, or early hours of the morning (whichever you prefer to be politically correct)? Am I sick and can't sleep because of non-drowsy medication? Am I getting back from some late night party and am just getting back home to the familiarity of the Internet? Am I being held hostage and forced to write, not of my own free will, but to please my armed assailant? Nope. None of the above....though the last one is pretty close.

I'm blogging obviously.

I've never been a very consistent blogger. I'm usually gung-ho the first few days and then get bored quite quickly. Thinking on a different topic every single day, trying to sound important or at the very least sound like I actually know something, typing over 500 words because it looks better on a page--it's such a different style of writing for me that I struggle. I like the free-flow of a story. The snap of a dialogue. The pleasant alternation between the two. I think in terms of plot and character and scene. In fact, if this blog were a book, it'd probably sound a bit like the following few sentences:

The librarian hunched at her desk. She started typing, only to furiously hit the backspace key. Sentences that used to come so willingly now had to be dragged out screaming from the corners of her mind. She paused to stare at the computer screen and groaned softly.  Her own writing had taken her hostage and put a gun to her brain.

"Why?" She whispered. "Why am I still doing this?"

Because she had accepted a challenge.

Alright, I confess. The above sentences didn't come any easier than I thought they would, and they weren't much better in terms of style, language, or character, so I might as well just hurry up and get today's entry out of the way. The sooner it's over with, the sooner I throw myself onto my luxurious king-sized bed and escape into the world of dreams.

My original idea for today's topic (before I procrastinated it to the point where today is technically yesterday) was on creativity. No one quite knows what it is or where it comes from, but when someone has it you can point it out. Essentially it means to create something in a new or original way. It doesn't matter how old you are or how skilled, creativity seems to be an ability that exists in and of itself.

For example: One day in your English class, you happen to see someone doodling in their notebook. It's a fantastic rendition of a monster from under the bed. Without getting caught by your teacher, you ask your creative neighbor how they manage to draw such a fine work. Surprised, your classmate replies, "I don't know. I just did it." Interestingly enough, if they try to recreate the original artwork a few days later and discover that they can't. The charm, the life, the unique spirit that was invested into the doodle has fled.

From the example you can see that creativity doesn't always depend on careful planning or painstaking detail. It's spontaneous and beautiful. Sometimes, it just happens. Like the flickering of an ember caught on the wind, you can follow it with your eyes for a few brief moments, and then it vanishes. And no matter how much you stoke the flames of your inspiration, you're never going to get the exact shape or color of the original.

Now there is nothing wrong with this particular bit of slime either. In fact, I like the end result and will probably use it in my next blog layout which I will finish and make available tomorrow. Yet even a novice can tell that one bit of slime, obviously looks more like slime than the other despite a higher resolution. The original has more spread and less blob. More jelly, less juice. I have no explanation for the fact that my inexperienced high school self could create a more convincing piece of slime than my 23 year old self can, but unfortunately, for both instances,  if someone were to ask me how it's done, I'd have to shrug my shoulders and say, "I don't know. I just did it."

And if you were to ask why I'm up this late blogging about slime, then you'd get the exact same answer.