So, there are a couple of quirky weird challenges that come up pretty much every day I sit down and do some serious writing. After a few hours I feel like two things happen-sometimes one or the other, sometimes both-and they're kind of related.
One thing that sometimes happens is that I feel like I get stuck in my head, and by that I feel like I get in this sort of monotone, bland rut. I feel like I lose any uniqueness and excitement in my voice and start feeling like everything is starting to sound the same.
The other thing is that I feel like if I don't see the face of another human being I might go crazy. Probably not a good issue to have as a writer, but it happens. I feel like I've been sitting by myself for too long and need to shake myself up a bit.
I may be the only one with these problems. (If you have them too, please comment so I know I'm not alone :). But here are some things that work for me to get rid of these congested feelings:
Reading. This helps a lot especially when I feel like I'm getting stuck in my own head. All I need to do is listen to someone else for a while and it blows a fresh breeze through things. What I've actually been reading for this lately is the 20 under 40 New Yorker short story collection, and that has been great. Lots of fresh voices there.
Get outside. Just go out, look at the sun, jump on the tramp, see if you can see some faces.
Exercise. Go to the gym. Walk the dog. Do jumping jacks.
Eat. Get some lunch. Give yourself some brain food.
Anyway, these things sort of help me in this situation, but what are your ideas? The more ideas the better, because then they don't get old. What do you do to shake things up when you feel stuck? Do you feel stuck, and what does that feel like for you?
Sarah Allen
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