Rocket Scientist

So, I was reading my sister’s blog today and it got me to thinking.  She was talking about the notion that, as a writer, you can’t always wait to write until you’re inspired, that you needed to work through the craptastic portions to get to the good stuff.  (OK, this is sort of like thieving Thursday, but, damn it, that’s already promised to tell JD how I got my Silver Snoopy).

Now, although I think my sister and I share the same values and we’re very compatible, we are also very very different people, different personalities, different methodologies.  That’s not a criticism; I think the world of my sister and don’t think that’s she’s better or worse than I am, just different.  I think differences are good for the world as a whole.  And they work for us.

And that just goes to show.  Although what she said is true for many people, it doesn’t work for me.  Most of my writing goes on long before I reach the keyboard by my multi-talented but egotistical subconscious.  Now, sometimes, there are chapters that I know will be dull to write.  I’ll slog through ‘em to get to the good stuff.  But sometimes I got nothin’ to say.  I’ve tried pushing it, tried making up something with my relatively useless conscious mind.  Craptastic is too nice a term for what I produced.  But, because of my strange brain, just by trying it, my subconscious went into pout mode.  Whenever I’ve done this, it has been literally months (and even years) before I can take it up again.  And whatever I produce is not salvageable.

For me, I need to have multiple projects going so, if I run dry on one, I can go somewhere else so my subconscious doesn’t get bored (I have a high maintenance subconscious).

And that’s my point.  There’s no bit of advice, no sure-fire method, no perfect answer that works for everyone.  True, not everyone is as crazy or brain-freaky as I am, but everyone’s different in this way or that way.

There isn’t one diet that works for everyone (yes, I know less - and smarter - food and more exercise), but some people react or respond or identify with one diet that makes it work better for them.  There’s no exercise regimen that works for everyone; people again find different things that work for them.

There’s no perfect way to raise your children (even among your own children).  There’s no perfect thing to do when you’re attacked by a bad guy.  There’s no magic way to solve any problem.  The “right” thing to do is as individual as the individual and the circumstance.

Or, at least, that’s how it is for me.

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