Get out of Practice
Well, we had a pretty good time at Disney World, and although a couple of fairly major things went wrong, they mostly turned out for the best. For instance, we thought we had tickets to Cirque du Soleil on Thursday night, but it turned out that their online ticketing system had eaten them. Fortunately, we were really in no mood to see whippet-thin contortionists doing nutty things with their midsections after the enormous dinner we had just had, so it worked out.
Also, I woke up the very first morning with my first head cold of the 2005-06 season, which was a huge drag. But I have head colds every few weeks in the wintertime (my theory is that a mutant immune system that turns all viruses into head colds is one of my superpowers, along with finding lost things and reading bad handwriting), so I know exactly how to handle them and I was feeling fine on the afternoon of the third day.
Of course, by the time we got back, I didn't want to work for a living anymore. I'm accustomed to not wanting to work at a day job, even the Best Day Job in the World. But this past weekend I didn't even want to write for a living. I had the hardest time even sitting down to work on the two fascinating articles I'm working on for the History Channel Magazine (this month features me on Audubon and Transcendentalist New England, pick one up at Barnes & Noble Booksellers today!). I practically had an anxiety attack; I kept getting up to wash the dishes, dig under the bed for the cat, stroll into the other room to see what Mike was up to...anything to keep from working. It's as though since I hadn't done any writing for two weeks, I'd forgotten how.
Word Count: 32,116 (+0)
Because if I can't write even when there's a paycheck on the other end, I sure as heck can't write for mere personal edification.
N.B. We're leaving again tomorrow night for Thanksgiving with my dad in Alexandria, Virginia. So there will definitely be no novelizing until at least the weekend. If then. I have two freelance things due on December 2nd and two more on the 5th, don't look at me like that.
Also, I woke up the very first morning with my first head cold of the 2005-06 season, which was a huge drag. But I have head colds every few weeks in the wintertime (my theory is that a mutant immune system that turns all viruses into head colds is one of my superpowers, along with finding lost things and reading bad handwriting), so I know exactly how to handle them and I was feeling fine on the afternoon of the third day.
Of course, by the time we got back, I didn't want to work for a living anymore. I'm accustomed to not wanting to work at a day job, even the Best Day Job in the World. But this past weekend I didn't even want to write for a living. I had the hardest time even sitting down to work on the two fascinating articles I'm working on for the History Channel Magazine (this month features me on Audubon and Transcendentalist New England, pick one up at Barnes & Noble Booksellers today!). I practically had an anxiety attack; I kept getting up to wash the dishes, dig under the bed for the cat, stroll into the other room to see what Mike was up to...anything to keep from working. It's as though since I hadn't done any writing for two weeks, I'd forgotten how.
Word Count: 32,116 (+0)
Because if I can't write even when there's a paycheck on the other end, I sure as heck can't write for mere personal edification.
N.B. We're leaving again tomorrow night for Thanksgiving with my dad in Alexandria, Virginia. So there will definitely be no novelizing until at least the weekend. If then. I have two freelance things due on December 2nd and two more on the 5th, don't look at me like that.
posted by kathy monahan at 12:02 PM
2 Comments:
Hee hee! I will have to pick up that next History Channel magazine. Adam is a history nut, especially local history. We went to a wedding at the San Mateo History Museum on Saturday, and he kept disappearing into the exhibits.
Good luck with that word count, I know how difficult it is to stay in the habit. Funny how most writers absolutely hate actually writing.
OK! So you stepped out of the habit of writing for a couple of weeks. Instead of feeling guilty -"just do it" and the guilt will melt away. Take this from a fellow recalcitrant (sp?) artist who falls off that creative wagon every now and then,too.
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