This is what writing is always like for me. I am flat out astonished that I have ever finished writing anything, ever. I live in an almost constant state of writers block. I call it The Fear. Only extremely understanding and patient teachers have gotten me through.
I found this book *enormously* helpful in getting through blocks and just in keeping the everyday writing going: How Writers Journey to Comfort and Fluency, by Robert Boice.
It is horrifically expensive (US$85 at amazon) but I've been able to get it through inter-library-loan three times. It's slanted a bit toward academic writers but works well for fiction and poetry as well.
You know what is scary? I tried to read some Macroeconomics and Operations Research textbooks today for my upcoming exams after almost two years of academic leave, and couldn't do it! It was like I had to nail every thought, every thread of logic to the back of my head with a ten pound hammer! I dread the Philosophy and Sociology essays I need to write, because I think the thoughts will just scattle away from me like they did today.
This is so so true. I just finished my thesis and then immediately had to give a presentation to my research group on 'the process of completion', and the best piece of advice I could give them is 'Just write something'. I also have a tendency to try to craft every single sentence perfectly, and I made a conscious effort not to do that with my PhD. I actually found my experiences writing fanfic really helpful in that regard - having done NaNo a few times in a row really helped to teach me how to just get words on a page. I wrote at least 7 full drafts of every single chapter in my thesis, but some of those started out as long rambles done in Write or Die.
So, er, word, hahaha. I may be a little bit obsessed with this topic at the moment!
I'm glad your work stuff is coming along well, I hope you get some time for yourself soon, though.
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It is horrifically expensive (US$85 at amazon) but I've been able to get it through inter-library-loan three times. It's slanted a bit toward academic writers but works well for fiction and poetry as well.
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So, er, word, hahaha. I may be a little bit obsessed with this topic at the moment!
I'm glad your work stuff is coming along well, I hope you get some time for yourself soon, though.
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