Writing Down the Blues (and Boredom)

Do you ever feel the lack-luster of the writing life? It can be a lonely profession, especially if you write non-fiction. Fiction writers have it a little easier because they’re always in good company with their characters. I get the best (and worst) of both worlds.

Today, I want to do anything but write an article. I’m simply not in a non-fiction mood. The weather is gloomy; we’re under a flash flood watch. It should be daylight, but it looks like its 2 hours earlier than it actually is. The holidays are coming up in two days—there will be road trips (probably in the rain). It’s too warm for the rain to be snow—just our luck here in the great mid-west. It’s just that time of year. Many people keep themselves busy with shopping, cooking—all the holiday festive things. But here in the writer’s life it’s the same old stuff. You can call it the blues, the blahs or give it a fancy name like SAD (seasonal affective disorder) but the truth is it just sucks.

What can you do when you don’t want to write? Write! That’s the only logical thing to do. Sounds simple doesn’t it—it even sounds like a contradiction because you don’t want to write. So, write. Write outside your genre, write fiction, write poetry, write a catchy tune, write a personal journal entry, write about not wanting to write, write a Dickens Christmas tale. Who knows, it may be the next holiday classic.

Many people suffer from depression. I’ve heard that it’s been a writer’s affliction since the Stone Age perhaps. This time of year, depression is extremely high; the holidays, the long cold winters, the lack of sunshine—a number of things can factor in to feeling down. Many people have written through the depression. Sometimes writing is the only healing balm available. As for me, I’m not depressed, I just want to write something fun and exciting—not a dull, boring web article. Bleh! I have people in my head. They have places to go and things to do. I’d rather be writing their story instead of this article.

The point is, when you don’t want to write something you should be writing; write something else. Write anything—just get the words flowing and before you know it, the blues are gone, you’ve written something (good or bad) and the writer’s life doesn’t seem so lonely and dull anymore. You may even want to tackle the writing project you’re sitting there procrastinating over because you don’t want to write.

If you’re lucky you’ll come up with a nifty little blog post to share with other writers who are feeling the same way.

Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford
Posted on December 23rd, 2009 and filed under Writing
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