Or, How Does Barb Get Her Groove Back?
My mojo has gone on vacation this week. For some reason, I can’t seem to get motivated to do much. (Seriously, this post was supposed to be written two hours ago.)
I go through something like this every April. It’s the Barb Wallace version of S.A.D., only instead of Seasonal Affective Disorder, it’s Spring Affective Disorder. For some reason, this year feels particularly tough.
Some of this is, as I’ve complained about mentioned before, because I am in career limbo. You know how, when you’re traveling an unfamiliar road at night, and it feels like an eternity before you reach somewhere recognizable? How about halfway there, you start worrying you might have missed a turn? That’s what career limbo feels like. You are basically traveling to a destination in the dark with nothing but your gut for a GPS.
You know what else is like driving on a dark road? Writing a book. In every manuscript, there comes a point where the story feels like it’s gone off the road. Some writers call this section the messy middle, or for those familiar with Three Act Structure, Act II. I call it pages 100-250. Whatever the name, this section of the book is where the real writing begins. It’s hard, uncertain work.
Guess where I am in the book?
Add into this a long stretch of gray April weather, and a major case of Pandemic Fatigue, and you end up with a major case of the blahs.
Normally, I’d battle the blahs by mixing up my routine. If there was a sunny day, I’d take my car somewhere to write. Other days, I might move my office to the coffee shop for a few hours. or meet a friend there and catch up. Sadly, Covid has killed those solutions for at least another month.
Double sad? Most of the friends I chat with have very busy schedules right now. I might be living the live of no deadlines, but they aren’t. They don’t have the time to visit – and really, it’s not their job to chat me out of the blahs anyway.
Therefore, I’m asking you to help a girl out. What tips or suggestions do you have for breaking out of the blahs? Post your idea in the comment section or send me an email at barbara@barbarawallace.com.
Believe me, I’d love to hear from you.
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