I’m floundering this week. I’ve written a lot today, but it feels like cobwebs being dealt with rather than anything I would send out into the universe. I’m getting tripped up by photos. I often take pictures to spark my memory for writing ideas. The photos are effective tools, but they are also making me stumble. Today, I’ve spent too much writing time reflecting on this: I feel like I’m writing essays that will be validated by the photo I post along with it. And today, that scrounging around for a visual stole the grit from my essay and the time I had dedicated to writing.

The words were rolling along. Then they stopped. A black technology hole sucked me in. I wanted to prove in media what I had tried to show in words, and I couldn’t link six video clips together on my phone – not enough storage space to make an iMovie. Then, I looked for similar clips on my computer and fell into a rabbit hole that meandered aimlessly through videos from early 2014. Finally, I pulled my choke collar.

Some people get a Hump Day Short sent to their in-boxes. Other readers, find me via Facebook and Pinterest, occasionally Twitter. And to draw readers’ attention on these visual social media avenues, I need to publish posts with an alluring piece of eye candy.

Take for instance, last week’s "Six Year Post-Chemo" piece. Desperate for a photo, I had Bill take a picture of the back of my head before I got a few inches of hair cut off. Being one of my steadfast readers, Liam glanced at my post on Facebook.

“Why do you have a picture of Chewbacca on your Facebook page?”

If you take a look you will see it: Turn the photo so the upper left corner is at the top, and there he is, complete with a wide forehead, inset eyes, and a big snout. Even the hair color appears Chewbacca-accurate.

I’m not a photographer or a videographer. I’m a writer. And while some of my quick snaps might be worthy of accompanying my writing, I’m going to bust out of this ever-present need to force a photo into my writing.

No idea how I will put this piece on Facebook. Probably re-post my Chewbacca head shot.