Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about script flippin'.

THE PROMPT: "How do you cure writer’s block? Do you have a special ritual that you go through when you encounter writer’s block? Or do you just suffer through it and hope it clears up or goes away?"

I dislike talking about myself as a writer. I've only been published a handful of times if that, and in 10+ years on WDC I wouldn't exactly say I'm successful. The stacks of notebooks I've kept over the years have only meant that I'm old and was once prolific, and even the local community newspaper I interned for in high school has changed their name to http://www.metrowny.com/. {Ed. Note: You wont see me on that site...I was there before the internet was THE INTERNET.}

But as I've mentioned before, part of a person who writes and/or considers themself a writer has the psyche of an attention whore. And I mean that with the best of sentiments. It's like a five year old who helps mommy bake cookies and is proud for you to have a taste. While we write to vent or share, we also want someone to notice. And if we take any bit of pride in our work, we want feedback. It's a fine line we walk, I guess, between personal triumph and ego. And as anybody with any sort of creative sense can tell you, they've tripped that line just as often as they've failed to make it out of the gates.

So for me to come on here and tell you how to cure "writer's block", in all honesty, kind of feels like me walking into a dentist's office and suggesting a cure for cavities that involves sugar, alcohol and rocks. I don't feel very qualified. All I can do is tell you what's worked for me in the past (when I was a much more prolific writer with a hell of a lot more time on my hands).

My internship (back in 1992-'93) was at the-then Metro Community News. They started me out writing up the Nuptials, then moved me up to covering my high school baseball and softball teams. I even got a feature story here and there that would run in all of their editions in the county. In my free time, I began to write poetry. When the internship ran out, poetry stayed with me.

At first, when I experienced "writer's block", I'd just write myself through it. In retrospect, it's some of the worst and most embarrassing writings in my canon, but I have no regrets because it kept me in the game and kept me active. I wouldn't change that early era of my "writing phase" for anything.

As I got older, I went though a stage where I felt I had to add visuals to my work. I have at least two notebooks that have illustrations or collages in lieu of titles. That alone was inspiration enough to pull me out of whatever mental block I was having...using images to stimulate my leaden creativity.

After awhile, once the concept seemed gimmicky and boring, I found myself fresh with new ideas...for a little while. I also took some time away. Whether one was because of the other is neither here nor there; either way, I had time and a whole new set of life's experiences to draw from...almost a different set of colors to paint with. Older, wiser, blah blah blah.

But even that dries up. I had to do something totally different. Once I had gotten back into writing decent poetry again, I caught myself slipping. And slipping into that place where I had been years before, of trying to write myself out of "writer's block". I was old enough now to realize that I had to put on my big-boy pants and try something different. Something out of my comfort zone.

I'd try off and on to write novels, but after a couple days I'd lose interest in them. The story would only stay with me for so long (even if I was using my own life to pull characters and plotlines from it). And when ideas would overflow but the poetry didn't fit them, coupled with life's circumstances, in order to combat my own verson of what writers call a block, I joined the relatively new revolution...I began to blog.

My first blog, "I'm Studying You" , was born out of the boredom I was having from not being able to poeticize things I was seeing and/or dealing with. It started slow....very slow, as I was new to the concept. Eventually, I caught on. Of course, it'd be nothing without my detailing of the chasing after Jess the CWC (three years on Wednesday! ). I made a lot of friends around the world from that place. And then, almost as quickly as I flipped the script on what I did to myself as a person who write, I dried right back up.

I didn't just hit skids...I damn near self-destructed (if you can call finally getting the girl in the end and landiing two jobs "self-destructing"). That blog was growing tired. My writing was just misery, and that's not life. Life's motion...it's the ups and downs. But the ups that weren't so common became unnoteworthy, and it's always easier to write about pain and misgivings and unfortunes. And I didn't want to take that route, plus I believe it violates the Terms Of Service now in the relationship between the CWC and I.

So again, with the itch to write, I started this blog. Again, to a slow start...a lot of my old blogging friends have dropped off, but a few are still around. And to make it more interesting for me, I joined this challenge. And here we are!

The moral to this entry is: Sometimes you have to break out of your comfort zone to get out of the rut you're in. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself to do something different, because if you don't try, you won't know what you're capable of.

MUSICAL BREAK:

I know a lot of you don't like hip-hop, but I grew up on it and it's a big influence on me. And it's my blog, so I'mma party how I wanna. This song actually kinda ties in to the prompt a little, and there's a line or two in it that not only can I identify with over the course of my time having been someone who's been through a bit of the "being published" game, but I feel like I've lived them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGB0DQb487Q

VITAL STATS:

I passed up two parties on my first day of vacation to give you this entry. So peace to Paul, who turns 30 and happy birthday...you're up on me big-time in fantasy football but you've got 3/10 down and I haven't had a player go yet. I like my matchup. Sorry we couldn't make it tonight.

And G-Stam, not gonna make it. Sorry. Once the anger got to this kid, all bets were off. Sadly, a deep breath and a beer wouldn't be the answer, kind sir. The nap was nice, but stupidity doesn't take naps. And I'm sure you know that.

I'm supposed to come up with a prompt for this contest in a week or so....and I'm not feeling that. Any suggestions would be helpful.

BILLS FOOTBALL TOMORROW!! I'm not excited or anything...even though our team kinda sucks, I think we're actually gonna win.

This entry is a little late, but you'll have that. "Tomorrow" doesn't begin until I wake up the next morning/afternoon. Especially when I'm on vacation.

BONUS TRACKS!!

Make it really feel like the bonus tracks you used to have to press fast-forward on your cassette players to hear, back in the day, and wait three minutes before you click the link. Or don't, and click it whenever your brain tells your finger to click it.

This is a remix; the original blew my headphones-encompassed mind back in '88. The message is simple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdmH3AfUo_Q

Headphones are the best way to listen to music...you hear everything in the song. That song was groundbreaking at the time, as PE and The Bomb Squad was, for the production value.

And I can't keep in deviating from the prompt any further without this classic frat-boy rant. I can't say it's their worst song, but it's one of their top three "worst popular songs"...and I respect them like life itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBShN8qT4lk

STRICTLY FOR THE INITIATED:

Fight for your right to party, a lotta years later with a lot of better actors (and a half-hour later) here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evA-R9OS-Vo

One more link...a band I also passed up seeing tonight in my fit of anger (deservedly) and playing right around the corner from me. A cover band, but a solid one nonetheless...

http://www.strictlyhip.net/

I fully, completely expect a different mood tomorrow. Jus' sayin'. Hope all y'all see better days. Til tomorrow (and that's when I wake up), GOODNIGHT NOW!!