the_cur ([info]the_cur) wrote,
@ 2006-08-06 23:07:00
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Current mood: frustrated

NOT HAPPY!
I am frustrated in the extreme. I cannot seem to focus on any written work. There is no flow.

Of course most folks are so bloody sick of hearing me whine about how much I suck as a writer that I’ve managed to alienate anyone who did care, and just when – thanks to my decision to quit smoking – I could really use some helpful advice on writing without being under the influence.

I quit smoking so I could stay home and write. Now that I’ve do so, I am finding I can’t write. I KNOW deep down that cigarette’s don’t control my creative process, and that I am better off without them, still, when I sit down to write, I find that something (the cigarettes) is completely lacking. I sit frozen like an idiot, writing is short incoherent sentences, and repeating myself ad-nausea until some how I manage to eek out a point, or, at least I hope I do. Though most often, I feel that it’s literally a waste of my, and the readers time.

And…that was it. That’s all I’ve got. I can’t even fucking concentrate long enough to write two hundred words without having to get up and walk away.

To hell with the dead coffee pot, this ‘really’ sucks donkey balls.




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[info]xtricks
2006-08-07 03:17 am UTC (link)
Well, the advice I've heard, and found - when I finally deign to use it - works pretty well is ...

set a schedule, creative process is just like any other activity, your brain and body need to be trained. Try and sit down to do some writing at the same time every day (but not all day).

do a 10 minute freewrite *every day*, at the same time every day. It dosen't matter how bad the freewrite sucks, it's a way to warm up the creative muscles. Journal entries don't count as freewrites. even if you just write 'blah, blah, blah, donkey balls,' for ten minutes, do - then put the freewrite aside and don't read it for a few days. It's not there to make you feel like you can't write, and it's not there to be read, it's a mental streatching exersize.

take a walk in the morning and/or just before you sit down to write. It gets the blood to the brain and cigs are a stimulant, your body is still adjusting to doing without the addtional help.

If you are feeling frustrated - take a ten minute break, a walk, a (no-sleep inducing)snack, whatever. Then sit down and try again.

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[info]the_cur
2006-08-07 05:38 am UTC (link)
Thank you. I'll definately give it a try, it's just plain wierd not knowing what to do with myself. And, yes, I'm guilty of thinking,"If I just sit here and bang my head against the desk hard enough, something it bound to fall out." Unfortunately, it's your brain.

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[info]the_cur
2006-08-07 07:31 pm UTC (link)
I did this this morning, and it helped. I also gave myself permission to write the dialog of a post, and set it aside to be filled in with the inner monologue stuff later. **gasp** Tomorrow however I think I'm going to start saving my 'free write' material on the portable stick memory device, then remove it from the computer so I'm not tempted to go back and look at it. **wink**

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[info]firelion
2006-08-07 03:18 am UTC (link)
*hugs* And that's all I can say about that.

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[info]the_cur
2006-08-07 05:39 am UTC (link)
Thanks! I needed that...well that and a good kick in the pants.

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[info]firelion
2006-08-07 11:28 am UTC (link)
He's got the right idea by the way. Scheduling it sounds counter-intuitive, but a lot of people find they work really well with some discipline or a goal. I try to punch out a word minimum over the course of the day, and I get a lot more done.

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