Mud

Today I drug my feet through the mud. I kicked and screamed at the thought of writing. I felt like I had nothing left in me to put out there. I suppose I should start from the beginning.

I spent the weekend unable to turn my head, or otherwise move, without wincing in pain. Me, anti-medicine, I-hate-the-doctor, nearly went in to urgent care with the intention of coming home with muscle relaxants in the hope of being able to just sit without pain. It really was terrible.

I should mention, I still did my 500 this weekend. Sadly, I wrote almost all non-fiction. I had things I needed to write this weekend; so I wrote them. While I can't say what they are (yet), I will say that I'm very excited. This, however, brought me to writing no fiction.

Tonight, when I sat down to write, I wanted to work on one of several project that I have going, but I couldn't find anything to say about them.

No worries, I thought, I'll just do a writing exercise. I'll try to make it relevant to something I'm already doing, and it'll be a win-win.

I sat down on my computer, opened up a word-processing document, and held my fingers over the keyboard. "Type!" I demanded them. They didn't respond.

I spent the next ten minutes or so frantically searching my brain and the internet for some sort of inspiration. I found none. Somewhere in the throes of this frustration, a voice came peeping out, with words I often give other writers: you don't have to have anything to write about. Just a person. Or a place. Start there, describe it, and let the rest take care of yourself.

I did this, and it worked. I came out with two new characters, neither of whom I've ever met before. They have life, opinions, and a place to live. They interact in a very specific manner, and they have good reason to do so.

I need to add editing more frequently to my list of "I will do this to be a better writer." What better time to start than now?

Do you ever have a hard time writing - either with coming up with a new idea, or continuing to trudge through a work in progress? What do you do to keep yourself moving forward?