v5.8 - Lions and Tigers and Bears

Oh My!

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Good morning folks!

How is everyone this fine Monday morning? Myself, I''m spectacular!

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We had a fairly good time this past weekend. I was sick, so I didn''t do a heck of a lot other than some gaming. We had some really nice weather as well this weekend so you can bet I was kicking my ass because I couldn''t really enjoy it. I''m still feeling a little under the weather this morning, but I''m on the mend.

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I have been trying to think of something to write about since Saturday. Unfortunatly, I have what is called Writer''s Block. I began looking over some material on Writer''s Block and felt I would share my thoughts and ideas with you this morning. For starters, I found a great website that deals with different forms of Writer''s Block and how to help overcome them. This was one that seemed to describe me the most:

"You''re self-conscious about the writing situation, you may have trouble getting started. So, if you''re preoccupied with the idea that you have to write about a subject and feel you probably won''t express your most original thoughts regarding the subject."

Their suggested solutions:

"- talk over the subject with a friend or tutor
- ease up on your self-criticism
- force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded that approximates your thought (you can revise this later) and go on with the next idea
- break the task up into steps. Meet the general purpose of the assignment."

So my first goal is to talk this over with a friend. Since you guys are my friends, I wanted to talk to you about it. My self-criticism is something I''ve been dealing with a long time. Nothing I write is good enough for me. Despite the countless comments I''ve had from you guys (and others), I still feel my work is less than what it should be. Therefore, I have decided to force myself to write about something. Since I couldn''t think of anything else I decided to write about Writer''s Block. Sneaky of me isn''t it? :) Now I break my task up into steps. After each new thought, I''ll throw out a slurp. Hell, if I decide to throw up a slurp in the middle of a sentance I''ll do that to.

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So what are the common reasons for Writer''s block you ask? Well, I did a quick little google query and came up with the following reasons:

- You have chosen or been assigned a topic which bores you
- You are anxious about writing
- You can''t stand to write down an idea until it is perfectly worded or if you don''t want to leave a poorly worded section on the page after you''ve written it (sounds like me a little bit)
- You are worrying about what your reader will think of your paper or how harshly he or she will evaluate it

These are just a few of the ones I found. These reasons all touch me in one way or another with the exception of the first one. I believe in learning and teaching and I will do everything in my power to make sure I write as accuratly as possible. I may not always be correct which is why I always ask you guys to verify it before commiting it as true word.

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One of the ladies who plays World of Warcraft with us is always watching me. When we chat on Teamspeak, I like to pull the wool over her eyes every so often. One of my favorite lies was telling her that if she finds a dead horde, she could skin it. This will give her a special item and would disallow the Horde player to get his corpse back making him/her have to release at the graveyard. Every so often I''ll bring this up on Teamspeak just for a good laugh. She is getting better at seeing through my tricks, but it is still fun to pull one out once in awhile and we both get a good laugh out of it.

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Never take anything I say as complete and accurate. I do most of my research in the evenings or first thing in the morning. Hell, sometimes my research is done WHILE I write. If you want to believe me, that is fine and dandy, but don''t blame me if I fill your heads with false information. I wouldn''t do it intentionally, Scout''s Honor.

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I''m dealing with Writer''s block in a number of ways right now. First off, my musings have been getting shorter and shorter of late. I find it more difficult to come up with witty ideas on a daily basis. There are millions of subjects out there that I could write about, but I seem to still get stuck. Don''t fear I''m going to stop musing as I enjoy this time in the morning to throw my thoughts out there.

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I went back and read a bunch of my older musings (refer to v5.3 - Reheated Musings). Now those were funny to read. Those were the musings some of you signed up for way back when I started this thing. I feel like I''ve let some of you down with my lack of wittyness (even a word?) and humor. This may also be why I''m experiencing some Writer''s Block. Fear not my friends, the show will go on. I need to turn things around on my end so they will turn around here. I have no doubt the stresses at my job are a contributing factor in my writing demise. Nothing would give me more pleasure right now than to quit this job and write full time. Unfortunately, everyone has an idea and the ability to write, so why should I?

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This week I''ll be doing some reading on writing. Find out what exactly it takes to make it in this world and become a full-time writer. I would love to grab my laptop and head off to Tim Horton''s in the morning and sit there with my coffee and write. I would love to sit on the porch of my house (thinking into the future here) and writing in the shade. How to I achieve this goal? I''ll find out and let you all know. :)

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Alright, somewhat dry and empty musing here, but at least I wrote about something. :) I''m going to take off now and see about getting some work done here. At the end of the day, it is THIS paycheque that allows me to live, so I better do something to earn it. :)

Take care my friends and remember to check your oil in your cars.

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Cheers,

Al