Monday, June 6, 2011

Today I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything

It’s official.  I don’t want to go to work anymore.  As a matter of fact, I don’t really want to do anything anymore.  It doesn’t help that the weather in France has been sunny and hot for the last few weeks.  My entire body is convinced I should be on vacation and every morning each one of my cells is chanting ‘call in sick!’  ‘ call in sick!’. 

Alas, I still have a few more weeks before true freedom shall ring.

Also- it seems like I’ve been having ‘mood swings’ when it comes to my current wip.  Sometimes I sit down and reread chapters and think ‘this is good stuf!’. 

Other times…well, let’s just say I start to wonder if I should let anybody else read this thing ever.   Every word seems lame.  I know I probably just need to take a step back, get some sleep and wait for my enthusiasm to return. 

So instead of writing, I’ve been watching back seasons of ‘Degrassi: the next generation’.  The episodes are only 20 minutes long and I’ve been popping them like they’re m&ms.  It’s almost as mind-numbing as ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ (but not quite).  Shows like these actually make me feel like a better writer.  At first I didn’t realize Degrassi was Canadian until they whipped out the ‘oot and aboot’ and used the phrase ‘coo coo banana’s’ in place of ‘crazy’.  Ah, those Canadians;)

What about you? What do you do when your in a funk?

27 comments:

Sarah said...

I read. And stare at Twitter. I don't want to go to work today either! So I'm commenting on blogs rather than getting myself in gear ...

Suzie F. said...

I can so relate to writing mood swings! Sometimes I think, "Hey, not bad. I like this." And other times I think it will never be good enough for anyone else to read.

I just try to write through it and chant to myself, "It's only a first draft. It's only a first draft..." It's allowed to stink.

Laura Pauling said...

I read and watch movies and wait for the funk to pass. :)

Jennifer said...

I'm with you...I almost had my hand on the phone to call out sick but then remembered I have too much work to do. I am struggling with my WIP so I feel your pain. Keep your chin up and have a great day.

Slamdunk said...

I think it is just part of the process--surviving the valleys so that we can enjoy the mountains.

I run. It is not helpful when I am tired (making me more tired), but works wonders when I lack creativity or am more focused on being angry about something.

I hope you get a refreshing cool breeze.

Talli Roland said...

Hey now, don't mock Canadian accents! :) I love Degrassi so much - it's been years since I've seen it.

When I'm in a funk, I watch property shows. They're very mind-numbing.

Matthew MacNish said...

I usually watch a lot of movies, and play video games, and read blogs. I've been doing well so far this year, but last year I couldn't write a thing for nearly two months.

Unknown said...

When I'm in a funk I watch back to back episodes of The Big Bang Theory. About once an episode my husband will chime in with "Do you want to go write?"

To prove my point I'll watch another episode.

Stina said...

LOL I didn't realize it had gone international. I didn't even watch it when the first generation show was hot in the 80's. I was more a Melrose kind of girl.

Nicole L Rivera said...

Right now I'm in a funk (fueled on by a head cold) and I'm reading blogs while watching a TLC documentary about a woman who carried a baby for forty-six years and doing laundry. Lol. I think it's all about getting the mind on something (anything in my case) else.

Here's to embracing the funk and pushing through (with TLC documentaries) :)

Old Kitty said...

Yay for lovely Canadians!! I've not heard of this show but now my interest is piqued!!

Ooooh!! What do I do when I'm in a funk. Erm.. I blog! LOL!!!

I say listen to your body and enjoy the weather!

Take care
x

Cynthia Lee said...

Neil Gaiman does the mood swing too. I remember he blogged about it several years ago.

So you're in good company! ;)

Elena Solodow said...

Oh yes, I've lived in the DNG womb as well. Hang in there!

Gina Ciocca said...

Go on vacation! I'll share my beach reads with you :)

My company blacks out vacation time in the summer, and that was a contributing factor in my recent meltdown. I couldn't stand the thought of being chained to a desk for the best weather of the year, a 7th year in a row. Plus, I'll be too busy to write. I mean, actually working at work? What's up with that?!

Bethany Elizabeth said...

Just a couple things:
A) Your writing IS great. Could be better than great. Could be fantastic. Could be genius. But don't give up on your WIP now! Take a break, maybe, that never hurts, but don't give up on it! :)

and B) Do you have AC at least? When I was in Lyon, we didn't have AC and it was brutal in the summers.

Janet Johnson said...

Oooh, I hate moments like those.

I read a lot. Like A LOT. Best of luck getting out of your funk!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Considering that I was just on vacation, I'm ready to get back to my writing. But before I left, I was in the exact same place you are now.

Unknown said...

The shows that are that short are always the one's that give you trouble.

I just got back from my vacation in FL and I'm already ready for more. I took two days off from writing and made up for it today luckily pushing out 3K worth of words.

Can I have a permanent vacation from my day job...yea, that'd be nice.

Colene Murphy said...

HAHAHAHA! Degrassi...that show is like candy. And makes me feel a lot better about my teenage years!

Poor gal. I'm sorry you're on the emotional MS rollercoaster. Hate that crap, but you gotta remember that it wasn't a crap idea when you started writing it, it wasn't a crap idea/story/writing when you decided it could be a real honest to God published book, and it didn't magically transform into crap between now and then. It's all in your head ;)

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I have those funks, too. And being stuck at work with them is HARD. Honestly, the best thing to do is walk away from the writing for awhile, and that is SO hard for me to do because I'm stubborn.

Slowly, I'm learning that taking a break from the WIP doesn't really mean I'm giving up. Sometimes a break is just a break.

It goes against the grain, but I'm getting better at doing it anyway.

So, it's probably best if you do nothing today. :)

Kelly Polark said...

I read in my genre for inspiration!

Christine Danek said...

I read. It sometimes helps. If the book is out of this world then sometimes not so much. Oh and I eat a lot of chocolate. ;)

Anonymous said...

When I give into my "funk" mood, I sit on the couch and watch TV. If I don't want to let myself be in a funk, I read, write, read blogs, stuff I'd normally do as a writer. Baking also seems to help lift my mood.

April Plummer said...

I watch a lot of TV, usually my backlogged DVR or NetFlix streaming, and I read even more. I hope you come out of your funk soon! I just came out of one, and I feel so refreshed...I guess we're all supposed to go through a funk once in awhile because when you come back, the world is a brighter place!

Carolyn V said...

I eat a lot when I'm in a funk. Not really a good thing. I hope we both get out of the funk soon. =)

Unknown said...

I pretty much end up looking like the cat in the picture for this post...

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I nap. And watch Dr. Who re-runs. And eat. :-)

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