A Message From The Doldrums ...

I'm stuck in the doldrums.  (I was going to provide the definition of the word but we live in the Googleverse so if you don't know what the word means, look it up)

I don't believe in 'writer's block' - I think that's a cop-out.  If you develop strong, multidimensional characters who each possess a unique voice, plus have a beginning, middle, and end to your story, you should be good-to-go and won't need to trot out 'writer's block' as an excuse for not writing.

The irony is; I'm known for marathon writing - I think my record was 5,400+ words in one sitting and I can proudly say that it needed very little editing during that three-pass process.  So, why am I stuck in the doldrums?

Pure laziness.

I'm at the point in my current project (at 54,000 words) where I need to lull my reader into a false sense of security before opening the gates of hell with all the accompanying gnashing of teeth and breaking of hearts.  I know as soon as I finish the current chapter, shit is going to get real.  Characters I have made sure you're fond of are going to die (kill your darlings); plans that my main character has laboured hard to sculpt are going to turn to shit before his eyes; children will be in peril and the bad guys are going to have a field day.  They'll lose in the end  – actually almost everyone loses in the end (I am writing a tragedy after-all) – but it's going to look like evil is going to triumph over good.

So here I am in the doldrums, brain simmering with the last 2/3 of the current chapter lurking behind my eyes – a mere 2200 words to go before my little armageddon explodes in my little make-believe desert town.  I think part of my hesitancy is that I'm hungry to write the exciting parts that will end in a climax and don't want to write the quiet prelude.  The other part is that it feels like I'm drawing a deep breath before I scream out the last 45,000 words to complete the tale.  Either way, here I sit only having written two paragraphs in two weeks.  Pathetic huh?

I know that in the next couple days I'm going to do what every writer does in these situations; sit in front of a blank screen and just start writing.

It's what we do.

But sometimes we get lazy and trot out 'writer's block' or 'doldrums' or some other lame excuse so we can perpetuate the bullshit notion that writing is a labourious, soul-draining endeavour.  It isn't; writing is rare fun and if you think otherwise; dust off your resumé and find something else to do with your time.

It probably pays better anyway.