The Slough of Despond (for writers)

[truepenny]

This post is just me bitching and angsting and generally being a sulky black thundercloud, so don't read it if you don't want to.

I haven't done a lick of work since Friday.

I should be working on:

a.) revising Book 1 after getting HL's incredibly helpful comments (none of this is about you, HL; you're the best ever), especially since I made fatuous promises to my agent about getting it to him in January.

b.) getting on with Book 2. It's not going to write itself, you know.

c.) Oh, look, the dissertation. (See (b.) above.)

d.) Short stories? Haven't written a short story since December. Need to get back up on that horse, too.

e.) Finding some kind of part-time job, so I can contribute to our exchequer, instead of just behaving like some sort of horrid financial vampire.

f.) Got a whole stack of stories (well, three) that have been rejected and need to go out again

And I just sit here and don't do any of it. I don't know why. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's not that I'm stuck or anything of the sort. I know what I need to do. I've just fallen into this sort of sloth-like apathy where I can't get myself pulled together to face it. It's a horrible sort of feeling, where half of my mind is yelling at the other half in an apoplectic fury, and the other half is just sitting there, not caring.

Have got to kick myself out of this, because it really does make me hate myself for being a lazy slattern.

Right. Sorry about that. I'm going to go open a word processing file and stare at it now.

Comments

[heresluck]

Well, I suppose I could come loom over you saying "dissertate!" or "novelize!" (or whatever verb you prefer) in ominous tones, but I can't imagine it would help. Although it might send you into fits of giggles, which could be fun.

As for f), shall we make a post office date? I have a pile of things that need to go out too, you know.

Or, how about this: for every chunk of revision on novel #1, you get half a dozen apricot twists?

Other than bullying, camaraderie, and bribery, I'm afraid I have little to offer. *grin*

[papersky.livejournal.com]

It would seem to me that what you need to do is clear the emotional clutter and get on with it. I get like that, and it's horrible. Writing ritual can help. Like frex, if you have a bath, put on clean clothes, pick out a writing necklace, make writing tea, light a candle, put on writing music, sit down at the computer with nothing loaded but the writing stuff... I sometimes think it isn't actually the powerful magic of placebo, it's Pavlovian reflex.

This would be for writing Book 2, for revising Book 1, it might be best to irritate yourself into fixing it.

Or hey, what do you want to do least? Threaten yourself that unless you do one of the other things, you'll have to do that. I got about six chapters of middle of this book written when I really should have been doing the proofreading of PRIZE.

I was looking at some stones on my magic writing necklace last night, and realized that they were the bit I didn't know yet. You could try that. I know you have magic necklaces, I've seen them.