"I am at a loss to conceive how a man should permit himself to write anything that would be truly disgraceful to a woman, or why a woman should be censured for writing anything that would be proper and becoming for a man."

04 August 2010

August is a Low-Down Dirty Month

There, I said it. Getting it out of the way early never seems to make a difference once the hellaciousness kicks in, but it's good to just put it our there. August is the all-consuming, rain-cloud following me everywhere, the universe saying you-haven't-dealt-with-enough-crises-this-year-so-you're-getting-them-all-at-once month of major suck.
So as a writer/creator I find myself asking: how do I work through this month of hell and get something productive out of it?

I have my Dracula-related bitching ranting critiquing keeping me sufficiently charged with critical energy, but it'd be pleasant to have something more creative, inspiring and/or original to help press through this time. It's not an issue of 'normal' writer's block; it's more like mental and emotional shut down which forces me to stumble through my days like a zombie, without the cool craving for brains.
I have a show to work on six days a week starting on Sunday... which basically means I will be working 14+ hours a day during the week plus 12-15 hours on the weekend. As inspiring as the show may prove to be, it's also a huge time suck, leaving little time to sleep and eat, much less contemplate and create.

Thus I am wondering: short of deciding not to sleep for the next month (which ultimately is not an option with my schedule), what can I do to find the time, energy, and drive to not only get through this month's inevitable shit storm, but come out of it with some type of accomplishment beyond mere survival?

My solution? Make it a goal to write every. single. day. Not just for work, not just notes for the show... even if it's just a rant in my own personal, handwritten journal about the insanity of life, as long as I'm writing for myself, I'm being productive.
Yet I won't stop there. Oh, no. I'm too stubborn and masochistic to choose only one goal.
I also plan on reading at least two full books this month - non-Dracula books. The (likely) best time for this being after rehearsals every night when my brain is racing with thoughts. Focusing on someone else's work, feeding on their progress and accomplishment, will hopefully spur me to further the first goal.
As a capper for all this, my final goal will be to complete an artistic project. Whether that ends up as a drawing, a piece of jewelry, a massive grouping of icons, a photo collage... whatever. I haven't decided yet, but something will be started and finished by the end of this month.

Any and all suggestions on sticking to this plan and not letting the rain cloud interfere with progress are welcome. I foresee a lot of 'hermit time' those handful of free hours I have during my days and many a Friday or Saturday night spent curled up with my laptop or sketch pad and a glass of wine...

2 comments:

  1. no hermit time allowed. diggin wine and creation time. you and me have a date ya see...we have a date in the santa monica area for some of that cree-ashun stuff you mentioned before

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, SOME hermit time is required, but I suppose I can de-hermit for productive social activities (with wine, of course) ;)

    ReplyDelete

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