Question of the Day: Writer's Block

tips (11.00 / 2)

oh--and dinner last night was grilled chicken sandwiches.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 18:02:11 PM UTC

Writing (11.00 / 2)

For me, writing is painful. Not a comment on a blog. Or a business email or letter. I do that all the time. But actually composing something that I want to be good, concise, readable I find agonizing.

I wrote a book once. Twice actually. Or at least most of two. They were good. The people who read what i had liked it. But I never did finish them. I read, and re-read, and re-wrote and rearranged. Agonizing. So I don't do it anymore.

I blog because it's less demanding than actually having human face-to-face relationships. I like people. But for the most part, only in short bursts. And I get to ignore Karma when I don't like what he has to say.

My inspiration comes from...I'd have to make something up here... or share secrets that I don't even share with myself.

Dinner was Phở.  

to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance .  G. Washington

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by: Kane in CA @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 00:53:59 AM UTC

Kane (6.00 / 1)

I love reading your comments lately, because they're exactly who I thought I was until so very recently.  I hope someone gets into your head and messes you up (in a really good way) like I have been.

I'll bet your books were awesome.  You are a great writer--clear, concise and clever.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 00:57:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

:) (8.00 / 3)

I have been reading carefully what you have to say about sharing. And I have considered it. And in the past I have had a very small number of people in my life that i could do it with. I burned most of those bridges. (I don't think it was intentional. I just fucked up.) Nobody fits right now. I actually sat across from the tantric sex consultant a few weeks ago and tried to picture myself sharing my deepest thoughts with her. I couldn't. So I ordered another beer and asked her if she liked having her hair pulled.  

to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance .  G. Washington

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by: Kane in CA @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 01:23:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

well (5.00 / 1)

if you ever change your mind--my e-mail's in my profile.  

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 01:28:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just to clarify (8.00 / 1)

Are you telling me you like having your hair pulled?

to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance .  G. Washington

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by: Kane in CA @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 01:30:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

:-) (8.00 / 1)

You're funny.  But I do wear my hair rather long-ish.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 01:48:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

writing is wrestling with what you do not know (10.00 / 2)

The beauty of the blank page is that it demands from you that you clarify, empathize, and lay out an argument.
The beauty, and ultimately, the utility of writing is that it reveals all the flaws as well as the strengths of what you have to say.
In the final say, this is a good thing. Because the blank page is an arbiter of sorts: are you committed to this? If not, then great. You have more thinking to do. If yes. then great. You have something worth hearing.  

Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Winston Churchill

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by: pheidole @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 01:51:51 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

wonderful (0.00 / 0)

I am all about revealing my flaws lately :-)  

Thanks for this.  Great food for thought here.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 02:15:53 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

my take on writing (0.00 / 0)

Why do you blog?

I like to write and I like to know that people read my words. Even better, I like to know that, now and then, readers find meaning in my words.

The keyboard is my wheel, the words my clay. My hands form letters into words, then paragraphs, like the hands of a potter form ordinary clay, coaxing it into shapes useful and, sometimes, beautiful.

The keyboard is my wheel, the words my clay. The hands of a potter press ordinary clay into shapes useful and, sometimes, beautiful. My hands on the keyboard form words, then paragraphs; like the potter, I strive to form something useful, even beautiful, from my words.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I write mostly from my own experience. Then there's the daily open thread here. Each morning's new face challenges me: "Write!" Sometimes that command provides a spark that brings fire. I waxed poetic over Emily Dickinson. I mourned Abbie Hoffman. I reveled when, over a week's time, you, dear puzzled, delivered a series of my feminist heroines.

Why the heck aren't you writing anything here lately?

I have yet to master these three components of the art of writing.

Mary Heaton Vorse informed us that "Writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."

I'll add that writing is also the art of applying the fingers to the keyboard, diligently, thoughtfully.

But ultimately, writing is the art of finding the confidence to stop dithering and finally press Post.

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by: danl318 @ Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 03:00:54 AM UTC

about that dithering thing... (0.00 / 0)

There's some really sloppy editing in this comment because I dithered for an hour before clicking Post.

Ignore the first "The keyboard is my wheel..." paragraph.

Damn, I wish I could edit my comments the way I can edit a diary.

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by: danl318 @ Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 03:12:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

you and me both (6.00 / 1)

I hate going back and reading a comment, thinking: "WTF was I trying to say there?"  At least with an essay, you can go back and edit after it has posted.

:::hint, hint:::

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

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by: puzzled @ Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 05:40:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

one other problem with comments (7.00 / 2)

How many times have any of us written The Comment to Upstage All Comments then accidentally left the page - as in clicking Back or testing testing a hyperlink, which of course wipes the slate clean?

This was a rewrite after I blew the original (and much better) version into the Ether.

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by: danl318 @ Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 11:35:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

oh, and about dinner... (10.50 / 2)

Last night we bought $2 tacos a our local New England taqueria. Tonight it was Mexican leftovers and barley and beef stew. The stew was concocted from a Stonewall Kitchens mix seasoned with lots of sage and a sane amount of cayenne. Hot enough to warm you up without causing pain.  

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by: danl318 @ Thu Jan 26, 2012 at 03:06:13 AM UTC