Writing Prompt
Came off a tumbler post, a quick quote from a “famous author” who suggested that writers write. Waiting for creative urges is merely an exercise in futility. That’s like waiting on the girlfriend who never shows up, the lover who is more mystery than mysterious, less real, and more surreal.
“You succubus, you!”
It happens.
I feed two tumbler — no idea what the things are called — streams. One is just the horoscopes, while the other is just the weblog.
Working my way through some material this morning, I’m trying to write ahead and get November and December done before the holiday crazy hits, I thought about that quote. Sitting at the breakfast table, tapping on keyboard attached to a tablet — an i–tablet — listening to the kettle whistle while I boiled water for that first cup of coffee, I realized that it was exactly what I was doing.
Does not matter if I am “motivated,” or not motivated. Doesn’t matter if I want to — or don’t want to. Sure helps that I like to get this out of the way as early as possible.
One writing professor had a character in his books who would write four, typed, manuscript pages every morning. On a typewriter, so, yeah, that was dated as an ideal, and typed manuscript pages tend to run 250 – 300 words per page. With a margin and header? Double-spaced? Figure 250 words, more or less.
The character would draw ire from other, fictional authors who would complain about the “four pages every morning” routine.
So that’s a goal, every day. The other morning, wending my way along the various pathways, I realized I was doing this, again, out of second nature, rather than as a stated goal.
Writing Prompt
There are numerous tricks that I will use. The most recent was to start each sign’s passage with the lead-in quote. That lasted for one sign. However, as a trick to get me to fill in the blanks with my experiences, observations and hopefully useful guidance for the coming starry array? It was a great move. Totally wasted, and erased, but worthy of the effort.
Doing this first thing in the morning was useful, even, when, as I showered later, I noticed that water wasn’t draining in the shower stall. Water, along with other waste, seemed to be coming out of the shower’s drain. I stepped out when I was ankle deep in non-draining sewage. Doesn’t take too long to realize that things aren’t as they are supposed to be.
I plunged for a few minutes, then realized, the toilet was plugged, too, and plunging in on the toilet just pushed mostly liquid material — “waster water and effluvia” — out the shower’s drain.
Time to call for help. No shame. I have a couple of neighbors, kindly older men, who would love to come over, and snake, and then talk about the war, then snake and talk about the way things were so much better back then, and then we would have to go to the hardware store and get something, then maybe a second trip, and this is getting ridiculous.
I called a plumber. Out in 20 minutes, too. Had to run a snake from the main clean-out, outside, tough bunch of dog-fur and (human waste). Took an hour, cost a lot but I was ready. Besides, when one is ankle deep with the water level rising? Clearly not a task I want to undertake.
What was good, my backed-up drain didn’t need attention until I had committed words to a page. After I’d done some writing.
“Writers write.”
Being ankle-deep in sewage is a powerful motivator.
The quote, I’m sure I have something similar in my Pink Cake collection, was about working even when not so motivated, moved, or otherwise engaged. I was grateful, the other day, that I got my fun stuff, the horoscope I was working on, done before I discovered the clog.
Even ankle deep in sewage doesn’t prevent work from occurring.
Writing Prompt
Ankle deep in excrement is hardly a good prompt, and this time, I was certainly at stopping point for the day, early on. Grateful that I get a start. Glad it was — relatively — ease to solve.
“Call the guy.”
There is no guy to call for writing prompts, and the notion of sitting around and waiting until something momentous occurs, the heavens open up and divine inspiration hits, yeah, that’s a long time between stories. The best prompts are being ankle deep in one’s own waste.
That’s motivation.
Writing Prompt
“Writers write.”
Kramer – astrofish.net