Mar 17
Word struggle
Yesterday was without a doubt the hardest I have worked to get the required number of words out for Table Rappers Persistent Spirit. Sunday morning arrived with still over 1600 words to complete, plus a number of urgent work-related tasks (on a Sunday? Yes - it goes with the territory).
Having the weekly deadline of getting an audiobook episode out there and in the ears of eager fans is a huge productivity boost, and has been the major motivation in getting this far without seriously falling behind. I could not accurately describe yesterday’s experience as writer’s block, more perhaps writer’s stall. Words merely seeped onto the mostly blank computer screen, and those words were rarely good enough not to be heavily edited. Character voices failed, interesting descriptions stayed well and truly embedded in my visually orientated brain, and the distractions of the internet were more a matter of achieving tiny moments of success as a result of tapping a key or clicking a mouse button. Every word was pain, and it was a vile experience.
By the end of the day, however - and greatly due to the support and empathy of jEN when she arrived home from work - the words turned from seeping to a trickle, and eventually to a acceptably steady flow; the audio episode was published a little after midnight.
There is no doubt the demands of a heavy workload plus the self-determined schedule of 3,500 words written, recorded, edited, mixed, and published each week is a tall order. But days like yesterday bring me just enough confidence in my own ability to get it done, somehow. A positive result from this project seems more and more a reality.
This post falls into both “agony” and “victory” categories because the day was a major struggle, resulting in victory. Yet that victory is tainted with the knowledge that there are many more days of pain yet to come. Onward to the four-day, work-less Easter weekend and plans to finally get a head start on the schedule. 3500 words per day plus recording? After yesterday, the prospect is looking like a walk in the park in slightly inclement weather.