Where do all the words go?
So you start writing and you continue, word by word, one after another: 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and then…you turn your head away and BANG!, you hit the buffers, nowhere to go, no more forward momentum. You open up the story; it’s been two weeks damn it, not two years but when you look inside it’s like taking a straight razor and cutting yourself to see what comes out. 20,000+ words and there they sit, destined for the file marked ‘In progress’, along with half a dozen other 20K’s that came to the same end. It’s like trying to build a Lego house but someone’s blocked up the holes in the bricks.
The penultimate day of the year and I sit, devoid of ideas and inspiration.
Am I destined for a life of flash fiction and off-the-cuff poetry? Fuck.
My Words, My World 
No, no, no. We’ve all been there, you must walk away from it and wait for inspiration to strike again. Negative thoughts will get you nowhere…feel sorry for yourself for a bit if you must but only for a bit!
You think? But I’m just a little afraid that walking away will let it fade like a passing stranger walking into the fog. Ah! I’m more angry that sorry for myself, although maybe they’re one and the same, or cause and effect. I will walk away and try to write something else in the meantime, anything except insomnia-related poetry.
Thank you Nathalie.
Each of us creates what we choose, sometimes at frustrating rates. Whether it’s our heart or our intellect that drives the writing, it’s belief and persistence (I believe) that gets us to a desired endpoint. A little self-kindness might be in order, too. 🤗
Hi Eric.
Long time, no hear. How are you?
Thank you for this.
This morning I wrote a 500-word (happy) short story, so all’s well as ends well.
Happy New Year.
All’s well here, too, Chris. Appreciate your kind reply. Took a lengthy blogging hiatus only to find after returning that I simply don’t have the time or creative juices to sustain regular posting. Other interests are prevailing.
Hit reply prematurely. Wishing you an amazing 2019!
It’s good to hear from you again Eric. I remember you saying you wanted time-out from the blog.
Best,
Chris