Some Context: Your humble blogger friend has been in somewhat of a downward slump of late. I have been experiencing that unique ennui of having spread myself too thin over too many projects and destinations, without having much tangible progress to show for it.
Writers write. That's the mantra. A page a day keeps one's muse at bay. Later means never.
Or maybe Goethe has something more appropriate: "What's put off to today, tomorrow's put off"
Writers are stereotypically dysfunctional in all of life's minutiae, except for writing. No, no the stalwart American Author, a man's man, may get lost in drink, may lead the most ruinous and scandalous of lives, but there is always output, output, output. How can tortured genius be measured without output? What is a writer that isn't writing? What is an artist without the daily,hourly engagement with creation? A schlub that's what!(The Ego screams) A no good shclub that has no business calling attention to their doings!
A schlub one minute. An author the next. Woe to those who live in the middle of this accursed paradigm! Flitting between disaffected pupil and accomplished scholar. Never falling too far, and never landing in one place. Living in the electron cloud of artistic merit.
At 27 years and counting your humble blogger has no answer to these bouts of block. I may be so able as to confidently say, with many years of expert experience, what paths or activities don't help when one is in the hole.
This state of being can be self inflicted by the demons of self doubt and procrastination, those buggers certainly do enjoy feeding off of each other. Giving into their taunts and temptations does not help, I can assure you!
Acceptance is the most potent antidote that I know for the time being.(Some may prefer the imagery of the serenity prayer) Do not confuse acceptance with complacency, but just take in the way things are at present, accept that as the foundation for your current trajectory and move forward. Maybe its baby steps. Maybe its the act of standing and not falling down. Whatever it is, it is probably okay.
The comedian Maria Bamford remains my favorite for just this sort of psychological situation:
“When ever you think “but I’m a waste of space and a burden”; that also describes the Grand Canyon. “Oh, but I owe people a lot of money and everybody hates me”; hello, Europe. “Oh, but I killed someone”; so have onion rings, firecrackers, who gives a shit. “Oh, but I’ve done some other horrible, unforgivable thing”. There are 7 billion of us, Google it; somebody has done exactly what you’ve done and they’re currently on a book tour… You’re never alone!”
Good luck friends.
