Hi all; I hope you're doing well. I've been reading a lot lately about people theorizing that "writer's block" is a myth. I have a pretty strong opinion about this topic. Here is a copy of the response I posted on the blog at my website at http://www.sherrithewriter.com . I really think that dismissing it as such is demeaning and minimizing what writer's do and it's offensive. Here's the entry:

I've been reading a great deal lately where people say that writer's block is a myth. Our muse doesn't get blocked, they say. We're just making excuses to not writer.

To them I say that if this is true, then "burnout" is also a myth. Think about it - if you apply this logic to every other area of life, then it logically follows that you don't get burned out on work; you simply get lazy and don't want to work anymore.

Now how does that arguement sound? Extreme, right? Well, I'll go to the other extreme and say that if a writer hasn't experienced writer's block, then I wonder if they're really writers. Because frankly, there's a difference between crafting a piece that is truly researched and developed and pounding out whatever random crap runs through your brain. If you want your work to be published and well received by readers, then you must invest in it by putting the time, thought and effort into it to make it the best piece it can be. That doesn't happen overnight and frankly, it can be a daunting task.

I know I sound peevish, but I've been writing for nearly 11 years and it makes me angry for people to "assume" that I get writer's block occasionally because I'm lazy. First of all, you don't stick with something for this long if your lazy. Second, you won't survive in the writing world in you're lazy because you'll drown in the flood of others that are willing to work at it and put their best work forward to get a break.

Writer's block does exist, and it's not laziness. Rather, I return to my previous statement of comparing it to burnout. I believe it's a natural tendency for us to get stuck in ruts and to show us that we need to break out of the same old same old to refresh ourselves and feed our muse. It's a sign that we need to slow down, relax, and experience life in order to refresh our creativity. Tapping that same old well over and over again is only going to drain it dry. We need to replenish it in order to keep turning out fresh work. We need to look around and find new ideas instead of pounding the same old ones, over and over. We need to stretch, grow and learn. And yes, sometimes it means we do need to take a break and live a little. A writer without a life isn't much of a writer. You need to live your life and fully experience it in order to keep the creativity flowing.

So yes, writer's block is just as real as burnout. And if you don't believe me, I challenge you to cancel your vacations this year and don't take a day of leave for the next 365 days. Then tell me what's real.

That's all for today.

Bye!
 

Hi all; I hope you're off to a great start to 2012. I certainly hope this weekend isn't an indicator of how the rest of the year's gonna go. Rick and I both came down with a vicious virus over the weekend that had us both bedridden. That's the sickest either of us has been in a long while. It's frustrating to get sick right at the start of the year, but I am glad it didn't happen over the holidays. That would have been inconvenient!

That being said, I do have 2 tips for those of you dealing with someone that's sick:

1. Don't force feed them, especially if it's gasterointestinal. Believe me, whatever you fear may happen from not eating is nothing compared to what will happen if you force them to eat; and

2. Don't pepper them with a million questions. People are addicted to asking too many questions in general, so it's a good habit to break. Plus, you'd be amazed at how much you can discover from putting your brain on something for 5 minutes. I bet it cuts the question quota by 75%.

Plus, on top of all this fun, I got a letter from my hairdresser that she's retiring at the end of March. I suspected this might be coming, but she always deflected the question. She's done my hair since I was 16, which is over half my life. She's also the only one that would do what I wanted with it, except for my great aunt, who quit doing hair when I was in my tweens and died 15 years ago. Everybody else wanted to do funky things with hair dye and curling irons and blow dryers and layers. I just want simple, all one length, no fuss, no electric appliances, brush it and go style. Not popular I know, but not terribly time consuming in the mornings either. I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll go for my next trim at the end of the month, bid her farewell, and decide what the hell to do next. I was thinking of growing it out some anyway, so maybe this is a sign to go for it. It would be nice to be able to do braids and ponytails again, too.

Anyway, enough griping. God willing, I'll get back to life tomorrow, albeit cautiously. We're both recovering, but it's slow going.

That's all for today. More later.

Bye!