Could You Change Your Oil Without a Wrench?
Friday, February 13. 2009
Then how can I be a writer if I can't think of the word I want?
This tiny little problem, which rears its ugly head with dismaying regularity, probably has me most self-conscious about my ability to consistently and reliably put out good fiction. I can come up with plots, interesting characters, great spec-fic ideas, and, on a surprisingly regular basis, some pleasing turns of phrase. But once in awhile, I find myself hitting this pothole. I'm motoring along in the fast lane, eating up words and sentences and paragraphs in a wonderful rush of creativity, enjoying the day with the windows cranked down, probably singing along to something by Moby or Blue Man Group or Imogen Heap, and there it is, that huge, unavoidable sinkhole crossing all the lanes, there's no way around it, and I come to a crashing halt.
I can't find that <shatner>one damned word.</shatner>¹
Some wonky neuron chooses that moment not to fire on schedule, and I know the idea I want to express, I can feel the edges of it, so I can tell the little cell's brothers are all on the job, probably nudging him to wake up and do his part, but he keeps hitting snooze. The non-word of this week was...well, I still can't think of it. It's when you have to answer to someone for something you've done— accountability! Hah, that's it. Wow. Now I know the solution to this particular mental block: blog about it.
I wonder whether this affliction is peculiar to me. Oh, I know other people are affected from time to time, but what about other writers? (Writers, as opposed to people, of course.) A mechanic would lose entirely too much time if he spent half the day every other day looking for a tool he had misplaced; he'd be fired unless he could organize himself more effectively. How do I smack my brain into better vocabulary recall? Mayhap I have too many words crammed in there, and I need to let a few out.
Maybe I could do that by writing...?
¹ Thanks to wood for that evocative formatting; it might not be original to him, but his was the first tweet I saw that used it!
Then how can I be a writer if I can't think of the word I want?
This tiny little problem, which rears its ugly head with dismaying regularity, probably has me most self-conscious about my ability to consistently and reliably put out good fiction. I can come up with plots, interesting characters, great spec-fic ideas, and, on a surprisingly regular basis, some pleasing turns of phrase. But once in awhile, I find myself hitting this pothole. I'm motoring along in the fast lane, eating up words and sentences and paragraphs in a wonderful rush of creativity, enjoying the day with the windows cranked down, probably singing along to something by Moby or Blue Man Group or Imogen Heap, and there it is, that huge, unavoidable sinkhole crossing all the lanes, there's no way around it, and I come to a crashing halt.
I can't find that <shatner>one damned word.</shatner>¹
Some wonky neuron chooses that moment not to fire on schedule, and I know the idea I want to express, I can feel the edges of it, so I can tell the little cell's brothers are all on the job, probably nudging him to wake up and do his part, but he keeps hitting snooze. The non-word of this week was...well, I still can't think of it. It's when you have to answer to someone for something you've done— accountability! Hah, that's it. Wow. Now I know the solution to this particular mental block: blog about it.
I wonder whether this affliction is peculiar to me. Oh, I know other people are affected from time to time, but what about other writers? (Writers, as opposed to people, of course.) A mechanic would lose entirely too much time if he spent half the day every other day looking for a tool he had misplaced; he'd be fired unless he could organize himself more effectively. How do I smack my brain into better vocabulary recall? Mayhap I have too many words crammed in there, and I need to let a few out.
Maybe I could do that by writing...?
¹ Thanks to wood for that evocative formatting; it might not be original to him, but his was the first tweet I saw that used it!
This tiny little problem, which rears its ugly head with dismaying regularity, probably has me most self-conscious about my ability to consistently and reliably put out good fiction. I can come up with plots, interesting characters, great spec-fic ideas, and, on a surprisingly regular basis, some pleasing turns of phrase. But once in awhile, I find myself hitting this pothole. I'm motoring along in the fast lane, eating up words and sentences and paragraphs in a wonderful rush of creativity, enjoying the day with the windows cranked down, probably singing along to something by Moby or Blue Man Group or Imogen Heap, and there it is, that huge, unavoidable sinkhole crossing all the lanes, there's no way around it, and I come to a crashing halt.
I can't find that <shatner>one damned word.</shatner>¹
Some wonky neuron chooses that moment not to fire on schedule, and I know the idea I want to express, I can feel the edges of it, so I can tell the little cell's brothers are all on the job, probably nudging him to wake up and do his part, but he keeps hitting snooze. The non-word of this week was...well, I still can't think of it. It's when you have to answer to someone for something you've done— accountability! Hah, that's it. Wow. Now I know the solution to this particular mental block: blog about it.
I wonder whether this affliction is peculiar to me. Oh, I know other people are affected from time to time, but what about other writers? (Writers, as opposed to people, of course.) A mechanic would lose entirely too much time if he spent half the day every other day looking for a tool he had misplaced; he'd be fired unless he could organize himself more effectively. How do I smack my brain into better vocabulary recall? Mayhap I have too many words crammed in there, and I need to let a few out.
Maybe I could do that by writing...?
¹ Thanks to wood for that evocative formatting; it might not be original to him, but his was the first tweet I saw that used it!
Craig on :
Oh! HTML Tags. I knew I would think of it.
(Stupid editor wouldn't let me put them in the proper brackets)