If only we could have a switch for The Zone.
That would be grand. I could turn the inspiration on and with the flick of a finger turn it back off. I could live a normal life. We talk so much about the emotional ups and downs of writing. What about the physical?
Enter The Zone: I drown out everything while in The Zone. My story flows nonstop. I forget to eat. I get mad when my body screams, "Go pee!" I feel every touch, every emotion, every breath of my characters. Yeah, we become one.
We hate The Zone. We yearn for The Zone. We suffer each time we fall in and climb back out.
What happens to me? My heart races, every muscle in my body tenses. I clench my jaw. When I do breathe, my breaths are shallow. I get lightheaded. It's a true labor for me physically. And I fight it. I don’t want to leave it. But my body takes too much of a beating and I have no choice. I try to walk away. My heart races faster. A wall slams down. I turn left then right, but it's no use. It's over.
Once I realize I'm in the Breakaway Room my body balks, refusing to accept the inevitable. One million fears all slapping and clawing at each other beat against me. Fear that I'll never slip back into The Zone. Fear that I'll never write with such a passion again. Fear of writer's block. Fear of blindness, dying before I finish, losing my hands, losing my files, losing my love for my characters.
Every muscle in my body clenches harder and harder. I turn back to The Zone, but it's locked. My fears have torn me from my focus. Another door opens and I'm shoved on my face into a world filled with kids, friends and family. I blink, take a deep breath and enter Cool Down.
For the aches and pains of my body, I usually do a small workout, either a quick jog or some weight training. To help unwind my mind I use my iPod while working out. After this, I pop in a DVD of one of my favorite shows.
And then it's over and I'm so very exhausted. It might be months or only days before I get my next free pass into The Zone. I long for that moment while at the same time I dread it.
Enter The Zone: I drown out everything while in The Zone. My story flows nonstop. I forget to eat. I get mad when my body screams, "Go pee!" I feel every touch, every emotion, every breath of my characters. Yeah, we become one.
We hate The Zone. We yearn for The Zone. We suffer each time we fall in and climb back out.
What happens to me? My heart races, every muscle in my body tenses. I clench my jaw. When I do breathe, my breaths are shallow. I get lightheaded. It's a true labor for me physically. And I fight it. I don’t want to leave it. But my body takes too much of a beating and I have no choice. I try to walk away. My heart races faster. A wall slams down. I turn left then right, but it's no use. It's over.
Once I realize I'm in the Breakaway Room my body balks, refusing to accept the inevitable. One million fears all slapping and clawing at each other beat against me. Fear that I'll never slip back into The Zone. Fear that I'll never write with such a passion again. Fear of writer's block. Fear of blindness, dying before I finish, losing my hands, losing my files, losing my love for my characters.
Every muscle in my body clenches harder and harder. I turn back to The Zone, but it's locked. My fears have torn me from my focus. Another door opens and I'm shoved on my face into a world filled with kids, friends and family. I blink, take a deep breath and enter Cool Down.
For the aches and pains of my body, I usually do a small workout, either a quick jog or some weight training. To help unwind my mind I use my iPod while working out. After this, I pop in a DVD of one of my favorite shows.
And then it's over and I'm so very exhausted. It might be months or only days before I get my next free pass into The Zone. I long for that moment while at the same time I dread it.