Writer’s block, in real time
Welcome to my Friday night.
It’s 6:59 p.m., and I have work to do. I have to write the first draft of the Home and About Us pages for a NYC travel company. I told them I’d have something this week.
I’ve been seated at this desk with an open document since about 4 p.m. Since then I have
- Booked travel for an upcoming speaking engagement
- Caught up on news about Hurricane Ike, Sarah Palin and Angelina Jolie
- Toasted and devoured three tortillas
- Talked to D.J.
- Spread some blog love
- Worked on my playlist for my MP3 player because I decided on a whim yesterday that I would run the Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon tomorrow
- Checked my checking account and Amex bill
- Donated to a fellow runner’s fundraising effort
- Pulled the ribbon down the hallway for the cat…
You get the picture.
It’s not like I haven’t been working on this. The project has been on my mind all week, heavily on my mind, though I haven’t written a word. This is a new project, and I am working with a team. My content will be the driving force for the message, the design, the …. everything… for this project.
My copy has to be amazing. I have to nail it right out of the gate.
So, all week I’ve been waiting for inspiration, hoping for clarity. What usually happens is that all of a sudden, the idea will crystallize. I’ll be ridding myself of unwanted body hair, and PING — I’ll know what to write and how to write it. Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to charge my clients for this random thinking time, but it happens all the time.
Since I work month after month with the majority of my clients, I don’t usually have to think this hard to crank out copy for their projects. We’re never really on automatic pilot — it all takes thought — but producing newsletter #6 is a lot easier than producing newsletter #1 was.
I wonder if a cupcake would help?
Ingrid on 13 Sep 2008 at 6:02 am #
I totally understand the inspiration thing. There has been many times while just standing in the shower rinsing off and the hot water massaging the tired muscles, the solution would just hit me. Then I stand there for a few minutes trying to get a hold of the solution to see if it would actually work.
Then I am in a hurry to get to work and see if I was right and finish off the audit. And if it works, you feel on top of the world, and you just want to celebrate.
So, how do I get that time onto my timesheet? How can I justify a brilliant idea that came to me in the shower? Without actually 1) being at work and 2) actually working?
I understand, for me at least being on salary, it means my brain is working for the company almost 24/7.
Very sad to say, I even dream about work! And of course, me being me, I worry about work also.
If you visualize the cupcake and the taste, perhaps you can trick your brain into thinking you had one. Of course, the real thing is better.
steph on 13 Sep 2008 at 6:15 am #
I completely understand this, Beth! And I was going to leave the same message you did on my post: I have one word for you: cupcake.
Seriously, though, I often find myself suddenly focused and ready to get down to business at about 4 pm because I’ve screwed around all day. I get my best work done between 4 and 5 but then I have to stop and do stupid waste-of-time things like make dinner, eat it, and clean up afterward. Grrr.
Bill Machi on 13 Sep 2008 at 3:05 pm #
Well I guess the more replies you have the more reason to procrastinate, here’s one more.
Well I heard somewhere the difference between a “good” project and a “great” project – is a plan and not quite enough time.
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