One way to beat woolgathering – listen to the dead! Don’t laugh. I’m actually serious here. Whenever stress creeps up and I get writer’s malaise, my no fail approach is to commiserate with other writers, preferably with those come and gone. It’s easier when they don’t respond to my complaints. That way I don’t have to either.
When you can’t stomach your own work one more second, or are in the process of editing:
“To begin with, [writing a book] is a toy and an amusement. Then it become a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling it into the public.” – Winston Churchill
Writing can feel like a mental illness. It’s great to know torture is a normal part of the process.
When rejection and doubt hinder your creativity:
“I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress.” – Jane Austen
Even the most lauded authors had doubts.
On blank screens:
“Many times I just sit there for three hours with no ideas coming to me. But I know one thing: if an idea does come between nine and twelve, I am there ready for it.” – Flannery O’Connor
As in, sit your ass down and write. Or don’t. I’m off to do that right now.
Georgian Word of the Day: Banyan
Not to be confused with the tree, a fig, a men’s vest worn in India, or a certain type of alternative rock band. The banyan I’m referring to is a loose kimono-type robe influenced by Persian and Asian clothing. In the 18th century, men would wear a banyan over their shirts and breeches while they were relaxing at home. Although it is referred to as a robe, it is not for sleeping.
