h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

No, no - not *that* kind of problem

Thing is, my writing doesn't do well at the moment. Usually, whenever I experiece something just a bit out of the ordinary, I have the words starting spinning around ín my head, forming patterns, sentences, creating the flow of a story.

Actually, to me, that is the very difference between telling a story and merely reading out a sequence of events that happened, one after the other - that the words make up a natural flow almost by themselves.

And they don't at the moment.

There are lots of words - plenty, if not too many. But they don't connect well. I guess it's like the poem itch that Titania wrote about recently - only a little different

I have been walking up and down quite a few sidewalks in Washington these last few days trying to find out why. I mean, I have had impressions and experiences here that felt like they should lead to a journal entry right out of the hat, so to speak - but as I got nearer to the laptop and the keyboard, they got stuck in my throat or wherever it is words get stuck when you're supposed to start writing them. I didn't even get as far as the blank whiteness of the Journal Entry field.

The most probable guess I have as to what's blocking the precious words (precious in the sense that they mean a lot to me, not necessarily that the world are going to rejoice in hallelujas on reading them ) is that I have a couple of rather major decisions hovering, waiting to be made. Not life-dramatic ones but rather important and demanding ones anyway.

I hope it's that. Because once I figure out what to do with those, they can be squared away and leave the door free for the words. That's the theory at last.

Maybe this entry - which has taken a lot few more backspaces and empty stares into the stylistic orchid on the wall in front of me than an entry usually does - can be therapeutic and puncture the block.

That would be good

Interesting... one question about something that might have something to do with it, and maybe not:

Is your internal music playing?

Because to me, words are almost like music - the flow, the rhythm, the patterns, even a melody sometimes...

...but at times when I've had a lot (too much) to do, the music in my head has stopped playing - I didn't notice it until it came back on, and then I realized I had missed it...

Anyway, to judge by your journal, the block is not very solid - you describe the situation very well!

Interesting way of putting it. Much as music is very integral part of me and my life (this is getting heavy, isn't it ), I don't think that my writing forms to any specific tune playing up amongst "the small gray" Maybe it is, though - I certainly can see the similarity between a melody and the natural flow of the words. Hmmmmm, worth a thought sometime.

Mostly, I think that an irritation of the stories not "pouring" was what drove the entry out yesterday. And it was a different writing experience from what I tend to do - the words was not stumbling over each other between my fingers (in my world-patented 4½ finger writing system ) as they mostly do but rather came out in half or whole sentences, then had to be edited and tweaked a bit until they sounded right.

Maybe I have just been a little more tired and somehow affected by the time zones differences even though physically it doesn't feel as if. The writing blast may have helped - I'm not looking as sceptical at the keyboard today

Thanks for the support

You mean your original posting yesterday was written in bits and pieces? Wow! Certainly doesn't look like it now...

I had another thought about reasons - could it be making a difference that you're currently surrounded by the English langauge (unless you're surrounded by it at home too?)?

We are talking about writing in English, aren't we? Better make sure before jumping to any other odd ideas...

I think the block - or, now that I've had a night's sleep, slow-down as it maybe "only" is - is a mental one and probably is a reminder from myself to myself that I should be thinking about these outstanding issues rather than enjoying myself with writing...

I don't think the English - and yes, we are talking about writing in English (that sounds kinda funny, doesn't it? "talking about writing..." ) - enters the equation. As I think we have discussed before (?), this kind of writing comes more naturally to me in English. Maybe even more so "over here".

Probably one side effect of using English for w**k on a daily basis for ... many ... years

It sounds even funnier considering that we're not actually 'talking' about writing, but writing about writing!

"I should be thinking about these outstanding issues rather than enjoying myself with writing... "



No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Easy - I said "should", not that I would

"Man burde burde" (Danish poem by Benny Andersen) springs to mind...

Ottox - If you need a laugh or two, try "Nynne's Dagbog" at Politiken's website. It has some hysterically funny moments! At least to my sense of humour...