…and then, one day, you’ll hit the wall.
Maybe you’ve hit it already, at some point in your creative
life. It’s likely that you have, everyone does sooner or later. If you haven’t,
congratulations, you’ve got something uniquely horrible to look forward to.
The words will dry up, your mind will empty, and you’ll
stagger to the nearest mirror to take a good, hard look at yourself and ask
“Who the fuck do you think you’re kidding?”
The reflection will have no good answer for you. It is,
after all, merely a reflection.
You’ll be tempted, in that moment, to collapse into
self-pity, and when that temptation comes, by all means, succumb if you want.
It’s your Self, after all, if you want to pity it that’s
your prerogative. I’d never tell you what to do in your darker moments.
That’s private time. And I’m not the boss of you.
If a moment of self-pity is something you feel, deep within
yourself, that you need, then take that moment. Collapse into a well of doubt,
and fear, and misery, and let negativity wash over you like a river, dragging
you under and out to sea.
Take your moment. You’ve hit the wall, it’s not like the
time was going to be spent productively anyway. Feel small, and stupid, and
worthless, like you’ll never accomplish anything.
But only for a moment.
And once that moment’s done, pull yourself back together, go
back to your novel, and get the fuck back to work.
