Brain in Neutral
Ever have one of those days where you stare at the blank screen without a single thought in your head? Yeah, those days. That's the one I'm having right now. In fact, the only thing I seem to be able to think about is the fact that my brain is malfunctioning. I can talk about that like you wouldn't believe, but everything else is just not there. From the fantastic idea I had for a novel (or maybe series of novels!) involving floating cities on a gas giant, to the list of covers I need to work on, to the video I really need to be finish up for school ... they just keep returning the same error message: File Not Found.
And of course, the constantly appearing question: What am I going to do? Because I have deadlines I have to meet, and other people are depending on me to meet them. So, what does a writer or artist or student do when their brain is in neutral and they need to get things done?
Well, I'd like the answer to be "Watch Doctor Who reruns!"
But it's not.
And I'd like to say that it's just a matter of buckling down. That once you get started, it's easy.
But it's not.
You just keep working. As hard as it is. As little as your brain wants to cooperate. You accept that you're going to space out. You accept that you may not get as much done as you wanted to. You accept that it's not going to be one of those magnificent days where the words flow like water and you get a word count that makes you grin, or your art comes together as if it was just meant to be that way, or the video runs effortlessly. Today, at least, you're slogging through it. But, you remind yourself that just because you don't love what you're doing right this minute, tomorrow might be a whole different story. You might wake up and suddenly realize that, while it's not perfect, you've got something good in there. There's something you can work from, that you can edit into something fantastic.
Most of all, you remember that whoever said that being a writer or an artist wasn't real work, doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
And of course, the constantly appearing question: What am I going to do? Because I have deadlines I have to meet, and other people are depending on me to meet them. So, what does a writer or artist or student do when their brain is in neutral and they need to get things done?
Well, I'd like the answer to be "Watch Doctor Who reruns!"
But it's not.
And I'd like to say that it's just a matter of buckling down. That once you get started, it's easy.
But it's not.
You just keep working. As hard as it is. As little as your brain wants to cooperate. You accept that you're going to space out. You accept that you may not get as much done as you wanted to. You accept that it's not going to be one of those magnificent days where the words flow like water and you get a word count that makes you grin, or your art comes together as if it was just meant to be that way, or the video runs effortlessly. Today, at least, you're slogging through it. But, you remind yourself that just because you don't love what you're doing right this minute, tomorrow might be a whole different story. You might wake up and suddenly realize that, while it's not perfect, you've got something good in there. There's something you can work from, that you can edit into something fantastic.
Most of all, you remember that whoever said that being a writer or an artist wasn't real work, doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
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