Lost weekend
11/4/10 21:42![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkemeraldsNot in the blackout-drunk sense, just in the cleared-my-calendar-so-I-could-write-then-choked sense.
I got no writing done. Only writing exercises. I am well and truly B-L-O-C-K-E-D on chapter 31, which a few people are waiting for. I've tried what I know to bust through the block. I read articles. I played writing games. I went outside and worked in the yard (pruning--seemed appropriate). In an unexpected place, I found a useful quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
Value traps are the ones where your thinking is not as clear as it should be. Value rigidity is the first one. It is a refusal to value anything other than a certain thing just because it “has” to be that way. A lot of times a solution will be staring you in the face, but you’re in too much of a hurry to notice it. Slow down — stare at it for a while! It’s very much like a fisherman sitting and waiting for a nibble. Value rigidity is usually an ego problem. Lose the ego and be humble. Let yourself be surprised, and solutions will show themselves.
I might have made a little progress late today. I think I've started to see a path. Stay tuned...
Meanwhile, I baked a gluten-free cake using agave instead of sugar, and it's pretty tasty. It's a variation on the pound cake I've been trying to perfect for several weeks now. Agave, for the record, tastes quite a bit like golden syrup.
The muse really can't be coerced, but if anyone has any more suggestions, tips, or tricks for enticing her back, let me know.
I got no writing done. Only writing exercises. I am well and truly B-L-O-C-K-E-D on chapter 31, which a few people are waiting for. I've tried what I know to bust through the block. I read articles. I played writing games. I went outside and worked in the yard (pruning--seemed appropriate). In an unexpected place, I found a useful quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
Value traps are the ones where your thinking is not as clear as it should be. Value rigidity is the first one. It is a refusal to value anything other than a certain thing just because it “has” to be that way. A lot of times a solution will be staring you in the face, but you’re in too much of a hurry to notice it. Slow down — stare at it for a while! It’s very much like a fisherman sitting and waiting for a nibble. Value rigidity is usually an ego problem. Lose the ego and be humble. Let yourself be surprised, and solutions will show themselves.
I might have made a little progress late today. I think I've started to see a path. Stay tuned...
Meanwhile, I baked a gluten-free cake using agave instead of sugar, and it's pretty tasty. It's a variation on the pound cake I've been trying to perfect for several weeks now. Agave, for the record, tastes quite a bit like golden syrup.
The muse really can't be coerced, but if anyone has any more suggestions, tips, or tricks for enticing her back, let me know.
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