Writing Wrongs

March 21, 2007

If there�s one thing I�ve learned about writing (and on some days, I doubt I�ve learned anything), it�s for every high there�s a low, and for every low, there�s a corresponding high.

If you�re in a writing slump and happen to encounter someone in a writing high, one thing is clear: They. Are. Annoying.

If you�re going along great, someone in a slump is someone who really needs to spend less time examining their navel.

Peaks and valleys.

So, you get knocked off your peak, go tumbling down into the valley, land on your back and stare up at the sky for bit. This can be okay, unless it starts to rain. But wait, you�re in a valley, so the classic it could be worse applies. It will start to rain.

You pick up whatever it was that knocked you from the peak, tuck it in your rucksack, and climb back out. The good news is the longer you�ve been writing, the stronger you are. The bad news is sometimes along with the thing that knocked you off the peak, you�re carrying everything that ever knocked you off the peak. That ruck is heavy.

I don�t have any specific recommendations for getting out of the valley. It depends, I think. Perfectly good suggestions can be the last thing you want to hear. Oh, go fill the creative well. Screw the creative well. Try a prompt--they�re freeing. Screw prompts.

And so on. Sometimes you�re carrying around a lot of attitude in a valley as well.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is acknowledge that you�re in a writing valley. You�ve been in one before, which means at some point, you can get out. You hang on, maybe try to lighten the rucksack, and eventually climb out.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 3:56 p.m.

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