Come to work.
Bring the laptop and mobile broadband device with the intention of writing a chunk of the new story.
Sit around playing games and/or moping over the unapproachable and unobtainable.
Simple.
At least the good news is that I've received my offer letter for the new job with this morning's post, although, given the incorrigible daydreamer that I am, I'm waiting until after I've seen tonight's lottery numbers before I sign on the dotted line. I know I've got more chance of being struck by lightning than of winning the lottery, but I can live in hope, even if I die in despair. The job news was sweetened a little further by reading the rates of pay and conditions section - I'll actually be £1200 a year better off than I thought I was going to be, because I'd forgotten that frontline operations staff get an extra London weighting over and above that paid to everyone else. Every little helps, as the slogan goes!
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Back at home now, Saturday rapidly expiring. I've finally got the urge to write something, but the couple of attempts I've had in the last half hour or so are stubbornly refusing to take any sort of meaningful shape. Lateness, tiredness, lack of the requisite capability all conspiring to have my mind flitting from one place to another without alighting anywhere worthwhile, a bit like the tiny moth that's been flying, apparently aimlessly, around the room for the last few minutes. Time to consign the day to the dustbin of history, I think.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
Hi there, Sammy
ReplyDeleteIt may be that there was no tangible or visible output yesterday afternoon, but I don't think that necessarily means it was wasted. The human brain is a strange thing: somewhere below the levels of your conscious thought it may be working away merrily on something that you're entirely unaware of. I suspect that pieces of the story will come to you in their own time, and a quiet, undirected afternoon may be a necessary part of the process.
Apropos of yesterday evening, I'm sure I once heard some advice from a published writer that one should write everything down, whether or not it seems to be going anywhere or is connected to anything else. I think this means you end up with a considerable scrapbook of random jottings, but you never know when a fragment you wrote perhaps years ago will turn out to be a vital element of your latest work.
The London weighting is good news - I hope you can find somewhere to live that doesn't eat all of it.
Take care
Mark
Hello Mark
ReplyDeleteI wish I had your confidence in my mental processes - I think yesterday afternoon was more a combination of a small dose of self-pity, and a large helping of indolence! I was working as well, but that was incidental to my lack of literary productivity. I do keep a notebook, and do try to jot down stuff that comes to me randomly that might be useful at a later date, but I'm not quite as assiduous as I might be on that front. The only saving grace is that I have got a very good memory, and can often dredge things up from the depths even a considerable time later.
Needless to say, Mr Camelot didn't distribute his largesse in our direction last night, so my acceptance letter will be in the post tonight - the extra operations allowance was a pleasant surprise, a little extra to feed into the ravenous black hole that constitutes our finances!
Love & best wishes
Sammy B