Another Dose of Writer Duality
(For those of you viewing duality posts for the first time, feel free to read the first duality entry. Essentially, writers are two-minded. This writer is no exception. From time to time, this inner dialog reaches the blog page because, somewhere out there, someone else is having the same sort of internal discussion. Italics represents the right brain, or writing mind. Regular text represents the left brain, or editor.)
What are you doing?
Hmm? Uh, nothing….
I thought you were writing tonight’s post.
Um..yeah…yeah I am, that’s what I’m doing!
Funny…it looks as if you are cruising the FW forum.
Ahh, trolling for ideas?
Suuuure. Open up Word and get to work.
(10 minutes later)
So…instead of working in Word, you are reading our RSS feeds??
Yeah, looking for ideas.
You don’t need ideas. You have a list, remember?
But…
Sigh…c’mon. You do four posts a week, every week. This was the goal we set and try to maintain.
I know, but…
So you need to write the post and get it published. No buts. This is important.
Yes, but…
No buts, dang it. Get cracking!
Yeah, you’re right. Okay.
(15 minutes later)
A-HEM
I’m writing, I’m writing!
You are not writing a post. You are writing an email to your mother!
It is part of the post…yeah, that’s it.
Oh really? And how does an email to mom translate into a post to the blog?
I’ll let you know when I figure it out, okay?
Look, I know you had a really hard day…heck a hard three days. But this is important, and we are going to keep the commitments made to ourselves. You need to close down the internet, open up Word, and write.
I’m afraid I’ll write about the last three days instead of something good.
Ahhh…now we’re getting somewhere.
Oops, did I say that out loud?
Yup. Now look, what is it we tell everyone? You need to be able to write in all circumstances… or almost all. Professional writers have had a worse string of days than we’ve had and they still write.
We are still “writing enthusiasts,” not professional writers (yet). Besides, look at the journal! I have 15 pages so far today!
And?
And…and, well. Um.
I thought so. Okay, you’re worried you’ll write crap. That’s okay. You write it, I’ll revise it.
You sure?
Yup, that’s what I do. You can go pour our heart out in the journal as soon as we’re done.
Sigh. Okay.
(30 minutes later)
Not bad. Not sure others will understand this, but not bad. It works. And it’s honest.
Thanks. Can I go back to the internet now?
Nope. Hit the journal, kiddo.
Okay! Now you’re talking!!
[...] – B J Keltz wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptbFunny/b…it looks as if you are cruising the FW forum. Ahh, trolling for ideas? Suuuure. Open up bWord/b and get to work. (10 minutes later). So…instead of working in bWord/b, you are reading our RSS feeds?? Yeah, looking for ideas. b…/b [...]
Love it! I go through this everyday, only for me its myself trying to get myself out of bed… so not so much on the creative side but I’m sure glad someone else listens to their brain and has conversations with it:)
Hi, Brandy
I’m not sure how I would feel if this duality suddenly turned itself off. I’ve lived with it most of my life. A teacher in high school once said with a laugh that all writers were “szchizo,” and I’ve come to find he was right…about this one at least, lol.
BJ Keltz
Yeah, I definitely identify with the duality. I think though that me and my inner self fight too often for me to actually get anything done
I’ve also found that the only way I can ever work on my book is working on my laptop that has no wireless card in it. I’m too tempted and sidetracked if I have the Internet a click away
Hello again, Dara! I am probably the only person I know that doesn’t own a laptop. I have my desktop computer in the same space as my husband’s (talk about distraction!) and do all my typing here. Sigh, lol. The laptop is a goal and I’m looking forward to one.
Thanks for stopping by.
You are so in my head. I am always battling with myself.
alicia
http://todaystyle.today.com/
I believe duality occurs to some degree for most people, but occurs at a very high rate for creative people whatever their medium. Mine is writing but I know artists, musicians, and creative entrepreneurs who experience it as often as I do. I think the key is a strong right brain…creativity and duality seem to go hand in hand.
Oh, that all too familiar voice. I hate writing crap, but just as Writer Dad says, your baby is born in your rough draft and matures in the rewrites.
Yeah, Sal, I loved that comment from Sean and put it on my computer. The conversations I have with myself never cease to surprise me…and usually make me laugh once I start listening, lol. Thanks for stopping by!