Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Back in the Saddle

There was denial. Then there was more denial. And finally, thanks to my spiritual healer (and chocolate from the 99 Cents Only store), there was a breakthrough.

Translation: I’m back! (You missed me, right?)

To get back in the swing of things, on this blog and in life, I’ve decided to repeat my Writer’s Diet Experiment, in which I blog about just about everything I’m doing all day for a week.

I usually prefer to write blog posts on a specific topic, but I think it will be good for me to be accountable to someone for a while. Namely, all of you! At least until my mojo has fully returned. (You can be the judge of when that’s happened...)

This experiment was inspired by the blog The Actor’s Diet, written by my friend Lynn Chen, who actually blogs twice a day. Could I ever be that prolific? We’ll see.

Here we go –

I began this morning as I often do – lying awake in bed ruminating on fragments of ideas, willing them to form into usable concepts. The view from my sleepy spot:



After about an hour, I got up and found a note I had scrawled in the middle of this night:



Unlike some of my half-awake notes, I knew exactly what this one meant. I went to my computer and added it to my TV pilot whiteboard.

My computer has been a dangerous place for me lately, sucking away my time and attention like a Dementor. My daily to-do list is long - read Cynopsis, Deadline, & TV Line, submit for projects casting online, check on my eBay auctions, Facebook, Twitter, read The Actor’s Diet and Junk Food Guy, and attempt to crawl out from under my mountainous inbox.

Unfortunately, in my denial-filled stupor, I’ve been spending way too much time on my don’t-have-to-do list – Cake Wrecks, Dealery, YouTube, Martha Stewart, etc. My healer suggested I limit myself to 30 minutes of email/social networking time in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, which is damn good advice. I’ll start doing that tomorrow.

On with my day –

Last night, before attending another spectacular Rant & Rave at the Rogue Machine Theatre, my friend L and I committed to brushing up and submitting one short fiction piece to at least three literary journals by March 1st. First work order of the day – search through Poets & Writers for three literary journals that would vibe with my voice.

What are your biggest Internet distractions?

3 comments:

  1. good luck! i love it whe you do this….

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  2. Lynn is, well, a blogging dynamo. I've come to believe she eats and types simultaneously. How else do those posts get up so quickly???

    One of the biggest lessons (which I keep having to re-teach myself) is that the "down" times are usually a recharge. The mindless activity may need to flourish for a bit so your brain and spirit can recover and find a new launching point. That being said...when I feel really stuck and feel like I'm not producing I throw up a pad of newsprint and just hack away to remind myself of the creative energy...the equivalent of your dailies. 'cause most of the time creativity needs to be beaten, cajoled, squeezed and cursed to look effortless. Good Luck!

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    Replies
    1. So true, Cindy! I remember hearing the advice that relaxing isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. :) Hopefully this week of self-inflicted scrutiny will force me to do some of that!

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