It wasn't for lack of topics, either. From the limitless depths to which Rob Ford will sink, to the latest in a long line of racist overreactions to the casting of a black man in a traditionally white character's role, there has been plenty for me to sink my teeth into. Yet whenever I found myself thinking "I should really update my blog" there was another part of me thinking "yes but you could also sit around and play Civilization 5 for 3,000,000 hours."
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| A Gude via Compfight cc |
ESPECIALLY because now I can play as this guy.
How can you say no to beard plaits like that?
How can you say no to beard plaits like that?
Laziness would be a term easily attached to a situation like this, and it might not necessarily be far off. At the same time, even though I said I shouldn't bring up the day job, well...I work a day job. I don't get paid to write this blog (though if anyone would like to offer I will gladly take whatever money you can spare on your way to a nice padded cell). I do it on my own time, and yes, it bears repeating even though it might not seem obvious to everyone: writing is WORK.
Whether or not you think that work is difficult when weighed against, say, a brain surgeon or an electrician or a snake milker, it is work nonetheless, and as with any job, you have your good days and your bad days.
The big difference is this: strictly speaking, I'm not obliged to hold any schedule but the one I give myself. Even self-employed professionals, like some lawyers, accountants, etc., still have clients to work for or meetings to go to or deadlines to keep. For a beginner writer like me, no editor is out there holding their breath in eager anticipation of my manuscript. The only thing that's going to see that bad boy through to the end is a few gallons of gumption cream and a delusion sincere belief that what I am doing is somehow very important.
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| Fibonacci Blue via Compfight cc |
Everyone wants to feel important, really.
In other words, when I fall behind on my writing, the only person I'm really hurting is myself. So why do it?
This is where a lot of terms will come into play that try to encapsulate a feeling that is so wholly unique to the individual it might be futile to even try. "The rut." "The wall." "Writer's block." "All gunked up with blork" (OK, I stole that last one from Futurama and it is totally irrelevant). For me, the closest thing I can liken it to is trying to tune an old television set to a channel. You keep messing with the dials, and every now and then you catch a glimpse of a clear picture, but then it's gone again and you're left with a frustrating buzz in your ear as white noise fills the room.
I'm not sure I've ever heard a term that I can completely relate to when it comes to my own writing stalls. Nor am I sure that it is a problem universally felt among all creative professionals.
There was once a brilliant comic on the Oatmeal about making things for the web. One of the key points that the artist made was that "if you don't have anything to write about, don't write." It makes sense. If you don't have any ideas, you shouldn't be writing. But when you have an idea, and you just can't seem to put it to paper, then that problem has morphed into something else.
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| e-magic via Compfight cc |
So how do you get out of that white noise? How do you fix your writing? Well...I don't really know. Some people say that you should sit your ass down and force it all out. Some say that you should just take a break, let it come naturally. Still others say that you should move on to the next idea, because if this one isn't working then it probably just isn't meant to be.
If all of that sounds completely unhelpful...it's because I've learned that it's not about me wanting to write, just as it isn't about the external reliance of audience or employer. It's about NEEDING to write. It's those ideas that stick in the back of your mind, that come back to whisper in your ear "why didn't you ever see me through to the end?" They won't let you go.
There's always going to be periods where wants creep in to mess with my head. A want to zone out. A want to leave well enough alone. A want to see the Carthaginians smacked off my borders in Assyria.
But damn if that need won't eventually push me back onto the bandwagon.
If all of that sounds completely unhelpful...it's because I've learned that it's not about me wanting to write, just as it isn't about the external reliance of audience or employer. It's about NEEDING to write. It's those ideas that stick in the back of your mind, that come back to whisper in your ear "why didn't you ever see me through to the end?" They won't let you go.
There's always going to be periods where wants creep in to mess with my head. A want to zone out. A want to leave well enough alone. A want to see the Carthaginians smacked off my borders in Assyria.
But damn if that need won't eventually push me back onto the bandwagon.
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Well said Tim
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