Writing or No Writing

Yesterday I wrote a grocery list. I wrote a check. I wrote comments at others' blogs. I have not been writing. I have a list in my head of things to do, things to organize, things to "get ready." I have not been writing. This is disappointing to me that I have not taken the time to write. The Literacy Teacher mentioned that one of her focal students had not been writing either, but she has been reading. I have been reading but not writing this week.
Do you think that sometimes we need to be reading to inspire our writing?
Sometimes as I am reading I think, boy, I'd like to write something like this. Perhaps I am just reading so that I can gain more skills as a writer. I need to take some time by myself, not in the house, to do some writing.
This leads me to think of my upcoming focal group of students that I will be meeting with twice a month.
Will I be able to support them?
Do I have enough prior writings to mentor them with?
Maybe this stagnant writing time that I am in is a good example that sometimes writers need to read in order to be a better writer. I have read a few books recently that I didn't really enjoy, I actually thought about the writer's ability to tell the story. I decided that I didn't really think this was my writing style. I collected that information as a writer for future writing. I filed it under: what type of writing I don't want write. I also read, "The Poisonwood Bible," (if you have not read this book I would recommend it) this author tells this incredible story through each character. It was a great lesson on how writers build their characters. Each chapter was told by the characters and they started as children and then ended as adults. You could see language changes as they grew older. It was like reading the lives of real people. The characters really came alive.
Perhaps reading others' writing is what I needed to do as a writer, because now I am ready to write.