Forum / slumps
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Lynn BeighleyJul 25, 11:35pmThis is how it is for me:
Up, idea, idea, idea, write write, idea, idea, write, idea, idea
sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump
Up, idea, write write, idea, write write write.
What do you do in the slump, can you willfully end it? How?
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 12:11amWhen the words aren't coming, or the energy is down, time, whatever, I step up my reading game.
Over the last year or so I've really worked on "reading like a writer," and at this point I consider reading to be essentially the same as writing, if I'm reading challenging enough work. I'm reading more philosophy and history than I used to, reading "big" novels, plays, etc.
As far as writing through a slump goes, I've learned that, for me, trying to force it results in... forced writing. Wow! Obviously you can revise that stuff later, but I've found it better, when the words grind to a halt, to pick up someone else's.
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 12:39am
I've also noticed that I tend to slump very badly over the holidays, so I think I might head that problem off by shutting down the writing for November and December. Reading only for those two months.
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mxi woddJul 26, 01:32amI go to The Idea Store™.
It's AMAZING what you can find there!
(if you just keep looking...)
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 01:59am
I heard Jonah Lehrer used to go there, but got his membership revoked.
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mxi woddJul 26, 02:11am
Well you can't go there and STEAL!!!
(unless you are very very discreet...)
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 02:35am
They took his picture and pinned it to a wall with others like him.
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mxi woddJul 26, 02:42am
(I DID walk out once with one of Ezra Pound's ideas, but I was humming Gangnam Style WHILE jitterbugging, which effectively prevented any of the local losers (I mean security guys) from approaching.
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J.A. PakJul 26, 02:58amI think of slumps as necessary refresh periods. I try not to think about writing. If that fails, I work on old stories, editing and rethinking them. I find other arts a help too, like going to art galleries, playing music, etc.
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Sally HoutmanJul 26, 03:09amI bought the entire box set of Nietzsche at the Idea Store.
When I got it home, there was nothing inside.
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mxi woddJul 26, 03:32am
Even porn stars know to give their creative organs a rest now and then.
You can't work ALL THE TIME unless (you suffer from some kind of dithorder).
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Darryl PriceJul 26, 03:44amTo paraphrase: let everything you do no matter how common or routine, including the slumps, be an act of love toward all beings, including yourself. How? Be it.Don't deny it. Let it come and let it go. All things must pass. Stay awake.Catch the next wave.Be glad it's not all the same thing all the time.Listen to the sound of the slumps being you and then not being you.Carry on.I agree with visiting other arts such as music, comedy, dance, walking, gardening,drawing or painting, even volunteering...whatever it takes to restore the balance.
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Sally HoutmanJul 26, 04:15am
Love me.
Love my slump.
But really, I think labeling it a 'slump' and identifying it as a problem, rather than a natural part of the process, *is* the problem.
A road can goes up hills and down valleys, but if you're on it, you're still headed somewhere.
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Sally HoutmanJul 26, 04:18am
'a road can goes?'
Oy.
(That's what you get when you buy your ideas from the bargain bin...)
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mxi woddJul 26, 04:20am
(they bring in the good stuff on Tuesdays, around four...mum's the word)
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Sally HoutmanJul 26, 04:23am
(thanks for the tip - I'll be back next Tuesday around 4:10)
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mxi woddJul 26, 04:26am
You're setting yourself up for failure!
I said FOUR!
Which means GETTING THERE at midnight the day before and standing in line SIXTEEN HOURS!
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Sally HoutmanJul 26, 04:41am
oh, SHIT!!
THAT'S what I've been doing wrong.
That 'splains a lot...
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 05:04am
"But really, I think labeling it a 'slump' and identifying it as a problem, rather than a natural part of the process, *is* the problem."
Sally Houtman is smart.
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mxi woddJul 26, 05:10am
Eggzactly.
Consider the chef/gourmand.
He/she/it cooks a wonderful meal, eats a wonderful meal and then, for a while, feels no need or interest in the act of cooking/eating.
Are they in a slump?
Must, CAN, one cook and eat constantly?
Is there to be no time for excretion and sleep?
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mxi woddJul 26, 05:12am
you gotta wash the pots and pans in preparation for the next meal, and this takes a certain amount of time...
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Matthew RobinsonJul 26, 05:54am
WRITEEVERYDAYNOMATTERWHATORYOULLFORGETHOWOHGOD
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Ann BogleJul 26, 02:18pmThe slump never bothers me. I do something else to occupy myself, and I realize, there are as many others who would prefer my slump to last as there are who would prefer it to end and for my writing to stay lit and keep coming and begin transforming something out of the cross-country air.
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David AckleyJul 26, 11:00pmOpening a vein sometimes helps.
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mxi woddJul 27, 04:44am
Basketball players like the feel, the touch, of the ball in their hands.
Poets like the feel, the touch, of words on their tongue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Not every encounter with The Ball must result in a championship game win.
Not every encounter with The Word must result
in a MAJOR WORK.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the true basketball player it's life-affirming to touch The Ball.
For the true poet is life-affirming to touch The Word.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's all about play.
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mxi woddJul 27, 04:46am
deadly serious
(but still rooted in the infantile)
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mxi woddJul 27, 04:48am
((love of rhythm and results))
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Matthew RobinsonJul 27, 01:50pm
ball don't lie
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stephen hastings-kingJul 27, 04:46pmI usually tinker with things regardless..but when they ain't happening, I try to work things into some sort of shape and then put them away to steal from or rework or ignore later.
Or I listen to rhythm & sound. To wit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP6nuY5nipw
this is for your loud-playing enjoyment.
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