Things to say and no way to say them

True writers, it seems to me, are the kind of people that observe the world, contemplate the reasons and motives behind the way it works, and then comment on all of it in direct, thought provoking ways.

My problem of late has been that I've realized that, while I may observe and contemplate the world at large, I'm a little at a loss when it comes to reportage. I don't really have a clue how to turn my thoughts into any productive output.

Oh sure, I have ideas. Concepts for works of varying natures flit around my mind, but nothing seems to land. Even when I get a really good idea that seems to have a lot of mileage to it, I can't seem to bend the thing into any real product. Even on those rare occasions where I sit down and pound away at the keyboard for a few hours, I almost invariably stop because I realize how daunting the task is that I've taken on, or how little I actually know about the subject at hand.

So what is this? Laziness? Lack of focus? Lack of purpose? or just plain technical inability? I kind of ride a carousel around these points. Sometimes I feel like I don't get anything written because I'm a slacker. Sometimes I feel woefully ignorant. Sometimes I feel like I just don't know how to write...like a weekend warrior determined to change the spark plugs who pops the hood only to discover that he can't even make sense of the difference between the radiator and the engine block.

The sad, frustrating reality is that it's likely to be a blend of all of these problems. When I work up the courage to try, I find my knowledge lacking, then lose focus because I'm off researching, and when I come back to the germ of the idea, I realize I don't have the first clue how to make it work as a piece of literature.

I wish there was an uplifting end to this post, but there isn't. It's just a big *le sigh*, and another tweak on the "I'm good but I'm stymied" tail.

If I can't do it, I must not be that good.