How many posts have I started with “I’m exhausted”? A billion? But, really…I am exhausted. My eyes even have that crusty feel. I’m eyeing (is that even the right spelling?) the couch wondering if I can just hurl my body on to the couch and sleep! I might have to dislodge a glued to the TV Tween and Teen. But, I’m so tired I might just fall on the unsuspecting Tween. zzzzz
Why am I so tired? Why the bleary eyes? The yawning? Even drinking coffee or Diet Coke won’t keep me awake. I’m THAT tired.
The reason for the tiredness? Writing and lots of it. I started last Wednesday and have not stopped. Writing, writing, and writing. Now, a natural born writer I am not. I get by. I do my best. I try. But, ultimately I’m not a trained writer. You know what I mean?
My English major days merged in to my editor for health care books career. But, I was never a writer. I edited my own and other people’s writing. I was a good editor. More than once I had an author send me flowers when the book published.
I took a few years off as a stay-at-home-mom-volunteer-at-school-and-church person, before I jumped headfirst in to the blogosphere. English major and editor of books, but not a trained writer by any means.
I write. I get it done. It’s not pretty. I write some more. I craft a great sentence. I have my Eureka moment. I write another sentence. I am invincible! I can do this. I congratulate myself on getting the meaning right. This writing thing? I can do this! A moment later I sit staring at a screen with nothing to write. I’m dry. Barren. Wordless. No mojo. No well-crafted sentence. No witty phrase. Nothing. For as hard as I slave and work, the words don’t seem to come. I stare at the screen. I fret. I clockwatch. I panic about not getting another sentence written. And so it goes.
In desperation I write a nonsense sentence. The sentence usually doesn’t make any sense at all. I throw it down to break the “there is nothing on the screen” blankness. I sigh. I breath in and out. My hand touches a key. I tentatively touch another key. I read the sentence again. It is truly awful. A desperation sentence if ever there was one. I delete a word or two. I add in a word or two. The sentence becomes far less horrible. Not great, but not truly awful. I write a few more sentences before I delete the nonsense sentence.
So, that’s my writing process some, but not all of the time. What is your process? Any tips that get your writing going? I’d love to hear from you!
