Fear in Writing: Stuck

Today in Literary History

Today in Literary History...December 14, 1907: Rudyard Kipling receives the Nobel prize for literature, the first English-language writer to do so.ud

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Stuck

I've gotta say I'm a little dead.

I can't write.  I don't want to write. 

I work here and there, I play on Facebook, I read, I watch crap-TV, and I take care of my children.

Aside from working, reading, and the last one--nothing is very fulfilling right now.
Have you been here before?  It's not really a crossroads, more like a big patch of glue right in the middle of the path...and I stuck.

19 comments:

  1. Yep. Been there. Give in to it. The writing will come again. Mine did. It was just that I needed to deal with some other stuff inside me first. Other parts of me needed attention. Hugs to you. It is not easy.

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  2. I've been there and I'll go there again. I prefer to think of it as a neccessary part of the path. It makes you compassionate to others and hopefully more loving to yourself. I'm sure I've said this before here but anywhoozie - I think it is like the transition stage in labour - highly irritating but productive! Like a midwife on hand for that stage I advise you not to push. Just breathe and know it is neccessary. I am sending you buckets of love. If you want to email me at mobudgeATnsDOTsympaticoDOTca I will send a very specific exercise that may help.

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  3. Been there more times than I choose to remember, and things have necessarily come unstuck at the right time.
    Hugs.

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  4. I think we all get stuck sometimes! I'm hoping things look up soon, Michele.

    Plus...it's just been SO HOT lately (Michele and I live in the same state, y'all.) I really, honestly feel that the weather has more of an effect on our mood than anything. Today the heat index will be over 100...we just CAN'T be moving quickly or getting stuff accomplished when it's like this.

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  5. I agree with Elizabeth. Even though I live in Georgia, our weather is a lot like ya'll's. It definitely has effect on what you feel like doing or not doing. You tend to feel drained. Hopefully the weather will break soon and so will your stuck feeling.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  6. Our weatherman says, "Stay in and do as little as possible." First time he's been right about anything in months! I don't think brains work so well in high humidity and heat. Don't force it, Michele. As Jan indicates sometimes it's all you can do to breathe.
    Take care.

    Mary
    Giggles and Guns

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  7. Michele - I've most certainly been there! Oh, yes! I'm glad that you're not fighting it too hard, because what I've found is that if you do fight it too hard, the writing you force from yourself is not as good. Hang in there and it will come back.

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  8. ah, a similar thing has happened to me and my fashion design work. I had been doing fashion sketches and models at least dozens of them every day for more than 20 years, but when I finished college, started working and using my free time on the Net and over at my blog, I stopped designing (I still do interior design) because I just didn't have time for it. So it's probably not really a lack of inspiration with you, but you just need to figure out how high writing is in your list of priorities. Or maybe you just need to focus just on one particular novel or a book and not write anything else to focus your energy.

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  9. A patch of glue is a good way to describe it. I usually hit that patch when I'm overextended - too many things going on, too little sleep and too much emotion.

    It'll pass - give yourself some time and relax :)

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  10. Michele you expressed it so well. I wish someone would tell me how to get the heck out of the patch of glue once you get into it...(don't even remember stepping in it).

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  11. I've been there!

    Have you tried peanut butter? Or does that only work on gum?

    Damn, now I want a peanut butter sandwich!

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  12. Been there. I'm there right now! Just when I get to a point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I run out of steam. Something inside is holding me back. I just go with it and let things stew in my mind for a short time.

    It is good practice to listen to your body and mind. I'm not saying to stop trying. I still write every day - even when I'm stuck. But, sometimes, when you slow down for just awhile, you realize how lucky you are that you didn't pour it on and run like hell to that light. In most cases, I've found that light is connected to a freight train!

    Hang in there. Enjoy the life you have all around you.

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  13. I get stuck! I feel so disappointed when I am stuck, because my creative outlets are so important to me-as I know they are to you. I try and do other types of things (tape and glue, you know) and I give myself permission to not sew. That is usually very freeing for me and helps me relax into my rut and then move past it. Hang in there friend!

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  14. Yep. Happens to all of us. I've taken 3 days to two weeks off from writing and catch up on stuff. House cleaning. Exercise. Movies with the fam. Sleep. The beach. Regardless, I still spend a least a little time writing short blogs and visiting Facebook. Now go do soemthing fun outside the house. That's an order!

    Stephen Tremp

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  15. Sounds like you need to read a very bad book. Why bad? Because reading a great one makes me think "how can I possibly write something as good as that?" But when I read a terrible one...I'm like, "hey, I can do a lot better than this bozo" and I'm inspired all over again. :)

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  16. Hey Michele...I left you a couple of emails wondering if you received them?

    Dorothy (Pump Up)

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  17. Give yourself permission to chill out ... literally. As kids we were programmed to take a mental break in the summer, and I think it still lingers. Come the fall, you'll be feeling frisky as a squirrel on a scavenger hunt for nuts.

    Hey, I left you a little something on my blog ... come check it out!

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  18. You all rock. I am sooooo grateful for your advice and ears!

    Thank you.

    Michele

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  19. I hope you're feeling better, Michele. I feel your pain!

    - Corra

    The Victorian Heroine

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