When Writing Sucks and Other Job Hazards

Perhaps I have cirrhosis of the brain today, but I really don’t want to write. Even though I find writing enjoyable, there are days when I really don’t want to give a crap.

I don’t want more closure. I don’t want to explore repressed memories. Aimless searches through the English lexicon to find the exact words to express my heart can die. Sometimes all I want to do is build a fort out of my bed sheets, snag a 24 pack of Pepsi, text people aimlessly, and hide in a cloud of caffeinated bliss.

SOUNDS DELICIOUS!

However, after a diabetic coma and peeling the sheets that stuck to the sweat on my forehead, I realize I can't live in a cocoon the rest of my life. I have to go. I have to go work at my job. No matter how awkward it is, I have to make face-to-face conversation with people. I have to ask that stoic cashier at the local corner store what her favorite joke is and listen her grunt in response.

I must trip, fall, refrain from cursing, and figure out who keeps moving that curb in front of the store.

It's annoying. You may not be good at it. But it has to happen!

Unless you are a fan of acid trips or totally insulating yourself through never-ending text conversations and Facebook, stimulus and conversation are necessary for your health. They dust off your brain. That is, of course, unless you have such a vivid imagination that you can travel to different worlds in your mind, like the Matrix, schizophrenia, or when you take bromodragonfly. If this is the case, please find a way to bottle and sell your gifted imagination for $29.95 on late night television.

However, for many, the ruts and routine of life hinder our imagination, quench our creative juices, and make us settle for bland versions of what makes us come alive. How else can you create a character after a bubbly waitress who secretly likes death metal unless you meet her? Where will you find that nerdy guy who could tell you Darth Vader’s middle name unless you go to the ComicCon?

(Which is a trick question, because he has no middle name). 

Life should be the catalyst for all your writing, and the only way to discover life is to live it. Without it, you may never find closure. And if that's okay, go back to texting... but....