While living and working in Edinburgh in 2008 I set out to write one million words in 366 days... but only managed 800,737.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Week Forty-Three Fug

>>Wake up tired.
>>Slog through morning, regain a bit of energy by lunch-time. Think of something which might be a suitable blog post.
>>Energy ebbs away in afternoon.
>>Get home from work, begin drafting blog post but give up after half an hour and watch TV.

This pretty much describes every day this week.

--

Tuesday’s abandoned post:

Why Day Jobs Are Good For Writers

* Money (and the things that money can buy like shelter, baguettes and over-the-counter painkillers)
* Time away from fiction (that isn’t tainted with “I should be writing” guilt)
* Time with people: A: because they are much better at coming up with quirks, foibles and faux pas than you. B: because they remind you how few people will actually read your work. (A+B means you can steal whatever you like from the workplace for use in fiction)

(Post video of 'Take Stuff from Work'...)



The Downside of Day-Jobs

[no energy to tackle this topic]

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Wednesday’s abandoned post:

Great Moments in iPod Shuffle: A Rebuttal

To prove that the quality of last week's shuffle playlist was more down to my mood than any sentience on the part of my iPod, here is an equally good list of songs thrown up by shuffle yesterday which I skipped:

[list never compiled]

In all I managed to cycle through 110 songs in an hour and a half of travel-time (usually about 20 tracks worth). I was totally over music, yet I couldn't bear to resume listening to The Blind Assassin, either. No doubt the lingering effects of the week-end's piano drop were to blame for such a mood. I am only now returning to normal.

[Oh really?]

--

Thursday’s abandoned post:


"I sing as well as I can and I dance as well as I want."

The title for this post is a quote from Warren Zevon, and I hereby adopt it as my motto for writing. That is, I'm trying my darndest to construct the best sentences and paragraphs, but I'm going to have fun with it.

I don't really feel like I've been dancing at all, let alone to my own tune, lately. It's been a grind.

I know I said I wouldn't. I know there are lot's of good reasons to keep keeping on. But I'm chucking in Novel B, again. In fact, I'm done with any project beginning with the N-word for the rest of the year.

I've come to the conclusion that I am unable to sustain the energy and attention required to write a novel whilst working full-time.

[And, it seems, I no longer have the energy to finish blog posts… ]

[File this under: Troughs]

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