Tuesday, June 14, 2011

10 Things that May have Happened to You


10. Flex your fingers. They're about to get a workout.

9. Place your hands in the correct position on the keyboard in preparation for the words you are about to type at breathless speed.

8. Those words are going to come. Any minute now.

7. Take a sip of coffee. Everyone knows you can't write when you're thirsty.

6. Replace your fingers.

5. Watch the cursor blinking at you. Try not take it personally.

4. Any minute now, you'll be typing.

3. Any minute.

2. Get out those notes you wrote down last night. Try to decipher what "Big-eared dog behind cabbage" might possibly mean. Obviously, it's code. You didn't realize you were that clever.

1. Re-flex those fingers. Every writer needs hope.

11 comments:

  1. Elspeth - Ah, I see you have some sort of spy camera that watches me write! ;-). Seriously, though, I often think it's just getting those first words out that's the biggest stumbling block. The one and only Robert Benchley is said to have had writer's block one day. He stared for a while at the blank page, and then came up with the word The. Nothing else would come. Some friends were having a party, so he stopped in for a while. Then he went back to his writing. He couldn't come up with anything else, so he added hell with it and went back to the party.

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  2. Are you sitting in the corner of my office?
    You certainly find the humor in frustration.

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  3. This is so typical of my day when I'm trying to think of an entertaining blog post. This is great. Thanks for the laugh.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress
    Freelance Editing By Mason

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  4. Where's the "make sure you haven't missed an email?"

    The hardest part of writing is getting ANYTHING on the page, just so you've got something to fix.

    Terry
    Terry's Place
    Romance with a Twist--of Mystery

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  5. Margot; Thanks so much for sharing that story! It's a comfort to know that sometimes even the best of us have trouble starting.

    Giggles; Sometimes, you just have to find the funny for the sake of your own sanity.

    Mason; It's typical of me too.

    Terry; Good point! I agree, it's often easier to fix what's there than getting it there in the first place.

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  6. Thanks for the directions. Comes at the perfect time, given that my writing day is about to start.

    Any minute now...

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  7. Elisa; So is mine. Any minute now...

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  8. This is my favorite kind of exercise!

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  9. Karen; I don't know if it's my favourite, but it is an exercise with which I am intimately acquainted.

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  10. Today I've been very busy with this excercise. :(

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  11. I would have to add a 1.5 in there. 1.5 eat a bag of M&Ms. Chocolate always helps to get your brain going.

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