Thursday, July 30, 2009

Not Dead. No, Really!

No, please do not remove the pickets from the fence or the spicket from the side of the house. This blog has not been abandoned, despite the cobwebs in the cornices. And I am not dead, or disappeared to places unknown... it’s just felt that way.


I don’t know how to preface this, and believe me, I don’t want to sound like some sort of tortured artist. I believe most tortured or drug addicted or alcoholic artists that stand around wringing their hands over their art are that way because they refuse to do anything about it - in other words, they have carved themselves a niche and become comfortable, and the fear of crawling out of that niche and having to redefine themselves is too overwhelming. That doesn’t mean they are bad people, they have just forgotten that artists are supposed to push themselves. I'm not talking about depression not being a real thing - it is. Many artists that struggle with depression do just that: struggle. There are several people I have met “virtually” who are open and honest about their struggles, and they continue to work, write, and produce material. Those are people I really admire. And I don’t want to alienate the boys because I am about to bring up three little letters: PMS - the scourge of the 80’s!


I haven’t been around too much because I’ve spent the last two weeks drifting in and out of a hazy darkness, and trying to pretend I wasn’t. In other words, I wasn't struggling, I was drifting. I didn’t want to admit it, I didn’t want to say anything to anyone, and I tried to continue to be myself, at least on the outside. This slow slide began around the time of the dreaded PMS - pre-menstrual syndrome to those of you without uterus-usses. That phrase is a wormy one, because the symptoms can come before, during and/or after the menstrual period (I know! UGH!) Mine is usually 12-24 hours of a strange, disassociated sadness, where I think everyone is whispering about me and my feelings are continually being hurt. I know during that time that it's just hormones, and the people I was friends with 24 hours earlier will still be my friends in another 24 hours - in other words, I try to take it for what it is - 24 hours of woe-is-me, and then done.


Not this time. I felt withdrawn, and began to withdraw. I’ve been in lurker mode on AW. I haven’t kept up with my blog or anyone else’s, and I feel bad about that. I’ve not responded to some emails. Have let a few promised things fall through the cracks, which sort of intensified my downward spiral so that I withdrew even more. These feelings coincided with the realization I didn’t have an ending for my book, and the overwhelming feeling that the year and half work on this has been akin to a mouse with four wheels in its cage; it spins and spins and spins them but never gets anywhere, and doesn’t come any closer to making those four wheels into a usuable vehicle. That feeling led to less writing. The less writing, the closer the black cloud came, the more worthless I feel, the more I withdraw.


So, I think I am going to admit that I am feeling down, downright down. I haven’t made it any better by putting up with some crap in the name of not making waves. Now I’m trying to kick myself in the butt, to not wallow. I’ve gone over some notes and found a magic line in which there is an ending for the book, rather than a lame cliffhanger. I think it’s a real, acceptable, jam punch ending where something is lost, something is gained and the story is moved forward. I have known the book needs work, what book doesn’t? I know the fairies aren’t going to write it for me, and the re-write is where the real work is, and a writer shouldn’t be afraid of doing real work.


So, that’s where I’ve been, and this has been my self-indulgent rant. I’ve gotten it out of my system, I hope, and will try and muscle forward. This blog was going to be about the writing process of a working schlub, and if I don’t write about the down times, then I don’t think it is a valid representation of said schlub’s journey. I wrote “Novel Done” on the square for August 14th and I hope I make it, but if not, that’s ok, because the “Summer Challenge” I joined on AW had a date of September 1st. I can live with that.


16 comments:

  1. Disclaimer:

    I do not have a uterus (how often do I get to say that?)...

    But I can definitely sympathize with the artistic ennui. I went through (am still going through maybe?) a similar phase with my WIP, just suddenly, out of nowhere, hating the hell out of it, but in my experience (and you seem to already know this, so I guess I'm just comisserating) if you just hold back from making decisions when you're in a down-mood, it all works out. In my case, I did a pretty long read of the WIP after I felt a bit better about it, and came away loving it more than ever.

    As far as the self-pitying artist thing goes, that is 200% true. There is clinical, chemical depression... but a lot of it is attitude. I remember when I was a teen, I went through a time where I was really depressed, and even prescribed Prozac. It didn't do much for me. After I got through that period, I realized the reason it didn't do anything was because I wasn't really depressed--at least, not anymore than any average, functioning human being. The world is depressing, even if you're 100% healthy, so it's very easy to get depressed without having any particular condition or artistic plight. Ironically, realizing this tends to cheer me up.

    And hey, completing a novel is a big deal!

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  2. *big hugs* I myself last week was under a cloud for a week. Actually, maybe it was more than a week. Yeah, PMS too. But even before it was started I was like, "Where is this blog going?" Not a fun place to be. But your attitude about it is excellent. No wallowing for us!

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  3. *Enormous hug*

    Welcome back, sweetheart. :)

    If you ever need to talk/rant about anything, I'm only an email/PM/whatever away.

    Love and hugs,

    Adam

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  4. Thank you all for commenting, with or without the uterus. I'm trying not to be a self-pitying goober, but be honest at the same time. I appreciate all of you. Thanks so much!

    bettielee

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  5. Dear bettie, you know you can talk to me anytime. Either pm or at swiener1[at]tampbay.rr.com I won't give you advice, unless you want it and I'll listen, try to make you feel better, and give ya hugs and cake. So stop by my inbox at AW or at my private one. I'm here for you as all your friends are. Hope you're feeling better. While I don't have PMS anymore, I do have those feelings you describe sometimes, so can relate. ((((((HUGS)))))))

    L&H suse

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  6. You got a comment from Suse!!!

    So jealous...

    Adam

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  7. yes Adam... you should be. She lurves me... but I lurves you... andyou will have to make due with that!
    jus' sayin..
    bettielee

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  8. I'm happy with Bettielee lovage. ;-)

    Adam

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  9. I totally know the feeling. Well, the uterus-related one. And some of the ennui and struggle. But you're back on a roll!

    And how I love your word count update on AW. About died laughing reading the exchange. :) Congrats on 1K. And on all the rest you're going to do, including the rewriting that doesn't bring up the word count but makes each word count even more. It's gonna rock.

    :)

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  10. Everyone meet sputnitsa, my new best friend...
    luv
    bettielee

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  11. *hugs*

    I'm glad that you aren't wallowing. It does take time to go through and get out of a depressive funk. If you're willing to take a good hard look in the mirror and pull out the emotional garbage that is weighing you down and holding you back, you'll be that much farther ahead than those who chose to wallow in their self-pity. It's not easy. And sometimes writing it down and getting it out of your head is a good tool to use.

    *hugs*

    Diana

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  12. Thanks Diana! I am desperately trying NOT to wallow.. but it is hard sometimes...
    bettielee
    who is now employing musical therapy

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  13. I can really identify with how you're feeling bettielee, once you get pulled in by that downward spiral it's really hard to get out again until you reach bottom. I'm so glad you're pushing forward!

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  14. Thank you CR! It helps that there seems to be more than one writer around feeling it. I thank everyone for their kind comments, and send out snuggles to everyone needing them!!

    luv
    bettielee
    finding a way out

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  15. I understand the pain. :( It's never fun...and it happens every month! (or every three or four in my case, which makes it much stronger when it does come). It's hard to get out but you can do it! And don't stress yourself either because it'll make it worse. Just keep pushing through!

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  16. Thank you Dara, for your kind words, and for stopping by mah blog!
    bettielee

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