Forcing it

Confession: I made a mistake in not paying extra for air conditioning this month.

Reading:

• "L. DeBard and Aliette: A Love Story," by Lauren Groff
  
• The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Hitches a Ride" - 1,777 words (Estimated completion 18%)
• "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold" - Outline 100%
  

Revising:

• "The Revenant"
  
• "Cora and the Sea" - Third draft 50%

So I managed to get a few hundred more words of Ferian today, which I count as a personal victory, considering how sick I felt this morning. I was up around 3am and couldn't get back to sleep--headache, upset stomach, the works. I drank seltzer and ate gruel, and by around lunchtime, the nausea had been replaced by a yen for cinnamon rolls. Go figure.

Anyway, this afternoon I did some Ferian, which I'm not really happy with. It felt like I was forcing it, which makes sense, because I was forcing it. So that's my question to ponder today--is it a good idea to force it?

In other words, on days that you don't feel like writing, when every word comes at an effort, does it make sense to write? I'm going to answer a guarded yes. Sure, I may have to redo every syllable I wrote today, but I got to do the nice boldy line up top there. I feel like less of a fucktard today than I have for the last several days, so clearly I did something right.

Plus, who knows? Maybe it's like warming a car up on a cold day. Sure, the engine isn't going to be running too well when it's cold, but you've got to turn it on and let it run badly for a while before it can run well. It's like the bad prose that comes out at first is the price you pay for decent prose later on.

One last metaphor--it's like turning on the faucet after a long vacation. The water comes out shit brown and nasty. You're not supposed to drink it, just let it run. So I'll just have to see if tomorrow, the water is still brown or starts to turn clear.

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 5
  
• Accepted: 1.5?
• Rejected: 2
• Pending: 1.5?