Now, I'm Not So Sure
October 16, 2015
I couldn't decide what to blog about. It's been that sort of week. I haven't been blocked exactly, I've just had so many odds and ends of things to do (such as emails to respond to, like the one from Bruce Harris letting me know that Writing Short Fiction appears to have found a new editor) that I feel as if I haven't really done anything.
Indecision is a real killer for any sort of writing. Sometimes it might be choosing between two words that apparently are equally apt that brings you to a halt. On another occasion it might be prioritising which piece to write first that causes the problem. Weighing up deadlines, how long it might take, the time available and possible remuneration against kudos or enjoyment can seem impossible. It takes so much time and energy to decide that you end up achieving zilch.
My advice is to procrastinate. Hold on, I hear you say, isn't that almost as big an excuse for doing nothing as writer's block? Ordinarily, yes, but when the problem is an inability to make a choice, the best thing is simply to plough on with something regardless and leave taking decisions until later. Whatever you write, you'll have to re-read, rewrite and edit it more than once, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to change that character's name you're unhappy with. The important thing is to write something.
I agonised over whether I should blog about whether some language is now so common that although it's ungrammatical, strictly speaking, it might be time to accept it, but I eventually decided that can wait for another time. The outcome is that I've uploaded all the songs for Discord's Apprentice instead. Feel free to procrastinate a little and put off some of the things on your 'to do' list while you read them.
Indecision is a real killer for any sort of writing. Sometimes it might be choosing between two words that apparently are equally apt that brings you to a halt. On another occasion it might be prioritising which piece to write first that causes the problem. Weighing up deadlines, how long it might take, the time available and possible remuneration against kudos or enjoyment can seem impossible. It takes so much time and energy to decide that you end up achieving zilch.
My advice is to procrastinate. Hold on, I hear you say, isn't that almost as big an excuse for doing nothing as writer's block? Ordinarily, yes, but when the problem is an inability to make a choice, the best thing is simply to plough on with something regardless and leave taking decisions until later. Whatever you write, you'll have to re-read, rewrite and edit it more than once, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to change that character's name you're unhappy with. The important thing is to write something.
I agonised over whether I should blog about whether some language is now so common that although it's ungrammatical, strictly speaking, it might be time to accept it, but I eventually decided that can wait for another time. The outcome is that I've uploaded all the songs for Discord's Apprentice instead. Feel free to procrastinate a little and put off some of the things on your 'to do' list while you read them.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
