The Basement Office

I’m still working on the manuscript.  As I stated to a friend, I’ve given up all pretense of following my (admittedly poor) outline and I’m discovery writing at this point.   I’m on what I think is the last chapter, so I should be completing the work momentarily.

I’ve had a bit of a writing break over Labour Day weekend.  These weekends tend to be very full for me and I didn’t even see the inside of The Basement Office (much less sat down to write) until Monday evening.

The immediate priority is to keep from doing what I did early August.  I do not want a small break to turn into a big one.  I wrote a little last night and I intend to write tonight.

I just wish it wasn’t such a DAY.

We’ve all had them.  The “DAY”, where one capital letter just won’t do.   People have written songs about them (A lot of them are country western songs I’m guessing) and they all drain us dry.

This is one of those days.  I won’t go into details.  Work is a trial, the commute was a mess and there’s a hundred little things going wrong as well as a few major things.  Some things going wrong aren’t even ABOUT me, but weigh down just the same.  It’s grey outside and it makes you just wish you could go home, just the door, pull a blanket over your head and tell the whole world to fuck off (what?  Did you think this was a family friendly blog? Well, I haven’t decided yet.).

How the hell does one shake this funk off and write something decent?

Every time I have a DAY (or even a Day), the question comes up.  I don’t have an answer, not a consistant decent one anyway.

I know that when I get home, once I’ve taken care of my daughter, spent time with my wife a little, I will sit at my desk and face off against my project.  Me versus the words.  Sometimes I win and the words come, sometimes I lose and they don’t.

I think the fact of sitting down and deciding to face the screen is probably the essential part.  If you can get your butt in the chair, the battle is halfway won.  You’re there, you might as well write something.

In fact, just writing this to you now, I’ve won.   I’m not even waiting til tonight.

I’m already in chair.

I’m facing a screen that is every bit the opponent that my home screen is.

I’m going to write something, anything.

It’s not a DAY anymore, it’s just a day.

I have won.

Now you go and win.