Bad days: A poem about fiction writing in the absence of inspiration
Bad days
That night the words won't come
Like untrained animals
They are wayward, prodigal
Perambulatory weasles
Spineless vermin
The writer's page lies still
Dead on arrival
No pulse, no breath
No heartbeat, no movement
Died dead, eyes wide open
About this poem
This poem is about that dire mood when you have a story to tell, but words won't come. Or words come, but you have no story to tell and so they flail about, orphaned and lonely. So many things must align to produce fiction: the desire and the time to do it; a quiet, uninterrupted space; an idea of a story and how it's going to play out; and a willingness to put words on the page even if they feel stilted and painful like conversation at a bad cocktail party. You simply must proceed, or you must acquiesce to writer's block and put that day to bed--stymied, beaten, nothing achieved. While I have no advice except patience, I offer a shoulder to cry on and a nod of recognition that it's hard sometimes. But it does make the journey sweeter when you finally break through.
Thank you for reading. If you have a personal story to share about your creative writing journey, I'd love to hear it.
Are you a writer seeking community or help with your writing? If so, please check out The Writers' Block on Discord.
Image credit: Pixabay
About me
- Re-introducing myself -- My updated Steemit intro.
My recent posts
- Conspirators and lies -- A 50-word short story based on a 19th century historical fiction prompt by @miniature-tiger.
- Words to learn: Recalcitrant -- Vocabulary series.
- Beach weekend: A short story for BeachWednesday -- A short story for BeachWednesday illustrated with my travel photography.
- Getting to know you -- A 50-word short story based on a "zoo" prompt by @miniature-tiger.
- Write Club report: 7 writers, 16 weeks--you do the math -- Write Club update, and a note about goals.
- Nine Eleven -- A historical fiction piece for a contest entry by @jasonbu, and contest winner.
- The man in hiding -- A 50-word short story based on a "crime" prompt, by @miniature-tiger.
- Writing workshop volume 16: How to accept criticism on your fiction writing -- Writing workshop series.
- Words to learn: Ambivalent -- Vocabulary series.
Most times I have writer's block, music helps. But sometimes nothing works; and on such days I just sit in the chair until the words come. If I can't still create anything meaningful, I conclude that writing is hard. I agree it's hard sometimes. Thanks for posting this.
My favorite way to deal with writer’s block is to read. It almost always works for me. But I am never sure whether to recommend it because some people say that reading other writers actually gives them writer’s block. Good luck with your writing!
Woah! You're a poet too! Nice!!
The picture's a little, umm, bizarre. But I like the poem. It's cool when authors can break writer's block by writing about writer's block :P
I would not call myself a poet, no. Let's just say I have the ability to dabble in poetry. :-)
Yes, I was up against the proverbial writer's block when I wrote that poem, and I do think it did the trick!