Thursday, December 02, 2010

Writer's Block #reverb10

December 2 What do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing -- and can you eliminate it?

The more stressed I am, the less I can write.  If the stress is something I cannot talk about, I am near paralysis when it comes to expressing anything else.  I am so consumed by the thing I cannot say, I cannot think of anything else.

Things aren't as funny when I'm under that level of stress.  Sunsets are greyed, jokes fall flat, and my mind is a constant whirlwind of "I have to tell you about the thing I cannot tell you."

I have struggled most of the last 6 months with something I cannot talk about.  It is both work related and personal.  It is not going away any time soon and it muddies the enjoyment of every single day of my life.  So, I struggle to find something else to talk about.  I pounce on every thing the dog does that is mildly cute, I write down every thing The Guy says that is mildly witty, and I thank God for sites that tell me what to write about because my brain can only think about the elephant in my workplace.

I cannot remove the stress from this particular situation.  Just when I have mastered removing myself from thinking about the stress, something else happens that brings it to the forefront again.  So, I keep trying and I work around the elephant.






5 comments:

  1. First, love the monkies!

    Second, I've found that a good pounding of the pavement (aka running) clears my thoughts.

    I know it can be hard with all that stuff bottled up... trust me... I know, but it'll be better for you in the long run.

    Promise.

    Keep up the great writing! #reverb10

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  2. Stephen: Thank you for the kind words and welcome to the Crap Monkies!

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  3. Your writing is still fabulous just blocked. Unfortunately acknowledging the elephant means you still have to keep cleaning up it's 'crap' everyday. Getting rid of the elephant not only enhances your space it frees up time and space for more interesting activities.
    No advice - just expanding your metaphor.

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  4. Even without a specific Thing I Can't Talk About, I seriously understand this. I'm finding that when I'm feeling extra stress, I don't want to put it into words, which then means I can't write anything.

    But I'm with Jane: even with some writer's block, you write so well, my dear.

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  5. Jane: your expanded metaphor is brilliant. Thank you for your encouragement.

    QWP: thanks kiddo.

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Crap monkies say "what?"