Stacking up the blocks

I wasn’t sure at first that I had something to say about writer’s block. I’ve always got something to work on, and I tend to follow Asimov’s advice — if I get stuck on one project, just shift to another. On the other hand, anyone who’s looked at my blog over the past couple of months knows that I haven’t been writing as much here. I’ve been poking at my brain to figure out why.

Some of it is probably just because it’s winter. I hate getting up in the dark. I hate it being too cold to even walk around the block — I gave up on that ten-minute walk in the mornings. I wanted to walk more to bolster my energy and gave it some serious thought last month. The thoughts tended toward, “Are you crazy? You can barely walk from the car to the store with the pain in your ankle.” Yes, cold hurts. So . . . no walking, no being outside, just lots of sitting around inside. That’s not good for the energy levels or the mood.

My mood took another hit when we found out that my husband wasn’t going to get his sabbatical. I understand, times are tight, the college has to cut back on funding, yadda yadda. But it was something to look forward to, and that got taken away.

I’ve also been really busy with work. Some crazy deadlines — some caused because I booked myself for multiple over-lapping projects and then had to push myself at the end to get them done.

All of that takes away from time and energy I might spend on blogging.

Things are turning around — I still have a lot of work coming up, but I think it’s a sane level, with staggered deadlines, just enough to keep me focused; the weather’s warmed up into the 40s, and croci and daffodils are starting to poke up through the leaf mulch in the flower beds (not formal mulch; I just let the leaves stay there to nourish the soil); the sun’s coming up earlier so some mornings, I don’t even need to turn on lights when I get up; and I’ve started writing some new short stories that I’m really enjoying. Last year, I didn’t do much in the way of new short stories completed; this year looks to be a different story.

So maybe now that my brain appears to be coming out of hibernation, I’ll be posting to the blog again. Spending time writing makes me want to spend more time writing, and that includes blogging.


Today’s post was inspired by the topic “Writer’s block”– March’s topic and theme in the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour — an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check out the next posts in the series, by Sandra Barret and D. M. Bonanno.

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out their thoughts on first stories, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. You can find links to all of the posts on the tour by checking out the group site. Read and enjoy!

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6 Responses to Stacking up the blocks

  1. Kathleen Hammond says:

    Ohhhh. I think I have painter’s block. I cannot really call it artist’s block. Anyway, I’m happy to see you up and running (whoops, strike that). I’m glad to see you up and blogging again, in addition to your writing and too many projects in the works. Do you use one of those giant month-by-month calendars to keep track of your work? Or, does your little technical brain keep track? I’m curious….

    • Erin says:

      I use iCal, actually. In fact, we have multiple calendars on there — one for family schedule (like the birthday party I just took the girl to, or the boy’s Scout meetings, as well as my tatting class), one for my work, one for my husband’s work, and one with birthdays and anniversaries. I don’t have one for a blogging schedule (or crafts!), but it might not be a bad idea!

  2. Laura Eno says:

    Mental hibernation – yes. I think winter generally sucks. It’s cold (I know I’m in Florida but it’s still colder than normal) and the light isn’t as vibrant. I’m glad it’s all starting to bloom for you now.

    • Erin says:

      Thanks, Laura! I hadn’t realized winter affected the light that far South, but it does make sense, as you’re nowhere near the equator! I often think if I ever get rich (not likely, but a gal can dream), I’d like to live somewhere with less extreme winters and lots more sun.

  3. Glad the spring is taking hold for you. I love your blogs.

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