You always seem to have a window into my writing life. Not sure I should be thankful or concerned! LOL Nevertheless I do appreciate your raw, unfiltered assessment of the writer's dilemma. I compensate by baking and walking! Cookies anyone??
I've heard from others that I'm "inside their head" -- I can assure you, the only head I'm inside is mine! Seems like this is the time of year that everyone starts to founder.
Baking is another creative thing to do instead for sure. Plus, you get to eat the results!
Thank you! Your raw emotions touched a nerve and I appreciate your willingness to share. Right now I am on a see-saw desperately looking for balance. I have no secret solutions.
That's the thing, I think: no secret solutions. I've done things that help, like working on something else creative to kickstart the writing again. But it isn't a sure-fire formula; there aren't any guarantees.
Sometimes just putting your head down and writing *anything* is helpful as well. That's my plan for November: do Zero Draft writing for a month, and worrying about what it all looks like later... lol
This year for me has been a mix-up of emotions complicated by grief, anger and thoughts of if only. I hope for more in 2026, but maybe my November goals will help turn the dial on my feelings. Like you, I also find that changing light levels make things more challenging and difficult. Thanks, Graham, for the honesty of your post.
Yes, 2025 was not my favourite year either. I'm hoping November will make a strong segue into 2026! I've decided that the best I can do is just write and let everything else take care of itself.
Just one little problem with the beachfront cabin idea … $$$. BUT, the sun came out yesterday and I gobbled it up by going out on a 10-mile walk. I seize the light whenever I can get it.
Yeah, maybe beachfront is too ambitious. How about condo facing away from the sea?
A 10-mile walk -- now that's a commitment! I maxed out at just over 10 km, so, what, less than 7 miles? It wasn't the distance that gets me so much as the time. And these days, 3+ hours is almost half the daylight! lol
That’s the worst part about having a full-time job isn’t it: you’re basically trapped inside during the only available daylight. And when you’re as far north as we are—checking Google Maps, yup, pretty close—there’s not much of it, is there? I used a high-intensity light box for years, but haven’t felt the need as much now that I’m retired and really can get out in the light more.
Been there, avoided the work, done the work for x minutes or 100 words, despaired of the work, quit the work, started new work, hated that work, read the previous work, restarted previous work, abandoned work, went out and coiled up hoses and put the chairs into the woodshed for the season, reread previous work—“hey not bad”—repeat ad infinitum, with flourishes and embellishments and occasional moments of “FFS just send out something” and publications.
Ha - yes. Sometimes just sending something out FFS (the new COD) is a big part of the treatment. #GraNoWriMo was certainly born of that. It was... not a fast win. But a relatively easy and definitely one where I could take back some control!
I like to remind myself that there is a seasonal perspective to everything in life. A spring of rapid and intense germination, a summer of long ripening, the harvest and dying off in fall, and winter of rest, hibernation, dormancy. So being stuck is just part of the seasonal aspect, and perhaps a necessary part of preparing for the next season. Let me know how that lands!
Totally relate, just went through it recently. I don't know the full answer to curing it, but I had a serious rut after a happy burst of productivity and some moderate success, but a couple of wins after a long string of losses sparked a rebirth inside of me. Now I've exploded with productivity and getting a lot of networking going. Even my wife reminded me it's often a 3-5 year upward climb when we're in this game starving for a bone. I had 16 years as an A-list music and film journalist and lost it all with the mags folding from the internet. It's been a slow rebuild trying to gain traction, but it's slowly coming. Find new things to work on when you finish a project and let that be your norm. That way you've built a long string of submissions you're not obsessing to hear back from and you're staying in fluid motion. Stay strong, Graham.
Thanks Ray. I didn't know that was your past writing life! What an interesting career that must have been. I mean, I know rock and movie stars are "just people like everyone else", but the stories they would have!
Yeah, the "finding new projects" resonates. That's often how I dig out of any creative funk. Thankfully, it worked this time, too!
You always seem to have a window into my writing life. Not sure I should be thankful or concerned! LOL Nevertheless I do appreciate your raw, unfiltered assessment of the writer's dilemma. I compensate by baking and walking! Cookies anyone??
Cookies? Yes please!
I've heard from others that I'm "inside their head" -- I can assure you, the only head I'm inside is mine! Seems like this is the time of year that everyone starts to founder.
Baking is another creative thing to do instead for sure. Plus, you get to eat the results!
Thank you! Your raw emotions touched a nerve and I appreciate your willingness to share. Right now I am on a see-saw desperately looking for balance. I have no secret solutions.
That's the thing, I think: no secret solutions. I've done things that help, like working on something else creative to kickstart the writing again. But it isn't a sure-fire formula; there aren't any guarantees.
Sometimes just putting your head down and writing *anything* is helpful as well. That's my plan for November: do Zero Draft writing for a month, and worrying about what it all looks like later... lol
I'm actually getting a little excited about it!
This year for me has been a mix-up of emotions complicated by grief, anger and thoughts of if only. I hope for more in 2026, but maybe my November goals will help turn the dial on my feelings. Like you, I also find that changing light levels make things more challenging and difficult. Thanks, Graham, for the honesty of your post.
Yes, 2025 was not my favourite year either. I'm hoping November will make a strong segue into 2026! I've decided that the best I can do is just write and let everything else take care of itself.
Good seeing you last night!
It’s the diminishing light that sets me off Graham, and I’m totally with you on these feelings.
Time to find a little beachfront cabin in southern climes, methinks! (I heard a rumour it's spring in the southern hemisphere...? lol)
Just one little problem with the beachfront cabin idea … $$$. BUT, the sun came out yesterday and I gobbled it up by going out on a 10-mile walk. I seize the light whenever I can get it.
Yeah, maybe beachfront is too ambitious. How about condo facing away from the sea?
A 10-mile walk -- now that's a commitment! I maxed out at just over 10 km, so, what, less than 7 miles? It wasn't the distance that gets me so much as the time. And these days, 3+ hours is almost half the daylight! lol
That’s the worst part about having a full-time job isn’t it: you’re basically trapped inside during the only available daylight. And when you’re as far north as we are—checking Google Maps, yup, pretty close—there’s not much of it, is there? I used a high-intensity light box for years, but haven’t felt the need as much now that I’m retired and really can get out in the light more.
Yes, we're near the same latitude. In Thunder Bay though, we are so far west in the timezone that it get light a lot later in the morning.
The bright side (literally) is that we don't get dark at 4pm like Toronto does...
Been there, avoided the work, done the work for x minutes or 100 words, despaired of the work, quit the work, started new work, hated that work, read the previous work, restarted previous work, abandoned work, went out and coiled up hoses and put the chairs into the woodshed for the season, reread previous work—“hey not bad”—repeat ad infinitum, with flourishes and embellishments and occasional moments of “FFS just send out something” and publications.
Ha - yes. Sometimes just sending something out FFS (the new COD) is a big part of the treatment. #GraNoWriMo was certainly born of that. It was... not a fast win. But a relatively easy and definitely one where I could take back some control!
This post was an FFS one-off, too.
PS thanks for sharing, keep drinking water and walking.
Thanks for keeping it real, Graham!!
I like to remind myself that there is a seasonal perspective to everything in life. A spring of rapid and intense germination, a summer of long ripening, the harvest and dying off in fall, and winter of rest, hibernation, dormancy. So being stuck is just part of the seasonal aspect, and perhaps a necessary part of preparing for the next season. Let me know how that lands!
It's landing well at the moment, thanks! Yeah, seasonality affects me more and more, I think. What's the "drink more water" answer to seasons?
Barbados, maybe.
Totally relate, just went through it recently. I don't know the full answer to curing it, but I had a serious rut after a happy burst of productivity and some moderate success, but a couple of wins after a long string of losses sparked a rebirth inside of me. Now I've exploded with productivity and getting a lot of networking going. Even my wife reminded me it's often a 3-5 year upward climb when we're in this game starving for a bone. I had 16 years as an A-list music and film journalist and lost it all with the mags folding from the internet. It's been a slow rebuild trying to gain traction, but it's slowly coming. Find new things to work on when you finish a project and let that be your norm. That way you've built a long string of submissions you're not obsessing to hear back from and you're staying in fluid motion. Stay strong, Graham.
"Strong" is my middle name.
Er, last name... lol
Thanks Ray. I didn't know that was your past writing life! What an interesting career that must have been. I mean, I know rock and movie stars are "just people like everyone else", but the stories they would have!
Yeah, the "finding new projects" resonates. That's often how I dig out of any creative funk. Thankfully, it worked this time, too!