Where'd My Words Go?

It's odd. I can write. I know I can.
Between 2003 and last year, I wrote any number of "news" articles for the Way of the Dodo site, not to mention the commentaries that accompanied most of the comics. At my last IT job, too many years ago now, I used to write software manuals for some of the more complex programs I created. Around that same time period, I was contributing regularly to the church newsletter. I've even finished the odd short story (although, again, it's been a while).
On top of all of that, I've participated in the National Novel Writing Month for the last four years running. True, I never even came close to any fifty thousand words.[1] But the word counts were there, and were positive numbers. My final word count last year was 32,310, if you really want to know.[2]
However, if you've been following this blog, I'm sure you'll have noticed a certain lack of activity here. I can hardly believe that it's been this long since I last updated.
Now, I have no difficulty writing per se. I can spend hours working on world-building or character development notes. I can list the topics I want to cover in an article that I might eventually get around to writing. Heck, I'm on volume five of the journal I started last year![3]
These days, though, it seems that whenever I sit down to write something that I expect other people to read - i.e.,something that's not my journal or an outline for my eyes only - then the well of words dries up like a . . . like a . . . like something that dries up . . . really fast.[4]
I created Four Thousand Characters to be an online portfolio of my writing samples. I created it to force myself to sit down and write on a regular basis. As I said in my first post, I envisioned a regular series of nonfiction articles on whatever topics tickled my fancy, and such short fiction as I could produce. Things most definitely have not gone according to plan.
Unfortunately, I've discovered what many aspiring writers before me have learned: the only thing easier than writing is not writing. I've gained a great deal of practice at not writing over the years. I'm an expert at not writing.
I can always find just the right distraction to prevent any actual productivity. Whether it's rummaging through the old files on my computer (again), or a little recreational Web surfing[5], there's always something I can be doing during writing time that isn't writing.[6]
Well, it's time to start writing again. I'm (still) out of work, so it's not like I can say I don't have the time. It's time to stop only thinking about having daily writing time, and start actually HAVING daily writing time. It's time to start exercising a little self discipline, and write something every day - even if it's crap that I delete right away.
And if there's nothing else, I can always start by writing about the writer's block. Just to prove that I really can write.

1 And what I did write consisted mostly of barely coherent rambling.
2 That represents a personal record. Every year I approach NaNo with the goal of beating the previous year's word count. So far I've achieved that, if nothing else, every year.
3 To be fair, I'm keeping the journal electronically, on the same antique PDA I use for this drivel. Volume divisions are entirely arbitrary.
4 See what I mean?
5 DSL is the procrastinator's best friend.
6 This applies to cartooning as well. I've got a load of half-finished cartoons lying around, that I just haven't done anything with.