Loading ...
She was doing it. She was really doing it. Lisa typed away on her laptop, watching the words fill the screen.
Well, maybe fill was too strong a word. They appeared. She had no idea where they came from. They were simply there when she reached for them. It had taken her the better part of an hour, but she’d managed to come up with enough of the phantom sentences to cover one page.
She probably looked crazy. She could feel herself grin, but there was no one to see anyway so what did it matter? Lisa just kept typing, thinking about how much better she was doing than Ben.
And then, suddenly, the words weren’t there for her anymore.
One minute she was thinking about what the characters were feeling and how they’d react to each other, and the next, nothing. It was like someone had turned off the movie projector in her head.
She had no idea how to get it started again. What had she been thinking about? She couldn’t remember.
She re-read what she’d written, hoping that would jog her memory, though really it wasn’t like she’d known what she was going to say in the first place, so what was there to remember?
What a mish mash. While she was doing the actual writing she’d felt smart, strong, and masterful. She’d felt the creation of a world taking place in her fingers and in her mind. She’d imagined readers so grateful to read what she wrote that they’d break down in tears.
Yeah, they’d cry all right – for having to read this dreck. She’d have to hold someone at gun point to make them, because no one would voluntarily subject themselves to this, would they? It was mostly a jumble of words.
Her brilliant characterization, enchanting scenery, and deep and meaningful themes – where had they all gone? She barely recognized the words.
Gawd, what would Ben say? He’d probably laugh at her. She was such a smarty pants, but this was the best she could do? And this after what she’d said about not being able to write because he didn’t have a computer being just an excuse…
Except she was right. He had paper. He could write.
And so could she. Maybe this would go even better if she didn’t try to write straight into her computer. Maybe she should write by hand first. She’d heard somewhere that a lot of authors did that – write it all out by hand and then type it in.
She closed the file without saving any of the words because they were all trash anyway, and turned off her laptop. She grabbed a sheet of paper, and put it on her desk, ready to go.
And there it sat. Bare. Naked. Bereft of a single word.
Lisa pulled at her hair. What happened? One minute she was typing away and the words were all just there, and the next, nothing. She didn’t even keep what she’d written because they weren’t any good anyway. But maybe she should have because at least they were written. That was better than this utter sense of emptiness.
Was this really what writing was like? Did she really expect to get a whole book written this way?
No way. She had better things to do with her time. Like apologizing to Ben for not taking him seriously enough.
If you enjoy Suzie’s House and would like to see more, please leave a comment. Suzie’s House is powered by its readers.
Awwww, the truth of the writing life . . . and why so many don’t make it to the end.
Excellent! And I think Ben deserves an apology too.
Yep, that’s the way of it. Poor Lisa. We all learn the hard way, though, that it’s not as easy as it seems. When it’s working, though, it’s magic.
Alice thank you so very much for stopping by. i so love having someone leave comments thank you so very much. It is very encouraging.
A writer!
WOW!
I love what you wrote. I love how Lisa is struggling to write sounds like me.
I love learning.
Blessings
a different perspective i should say
What an exciting and interesting blog you have
Thanks for stopping by to visit mine.
Yes, it’s never as easy as it looks. But she shouldn’t have been so hard on herself; maybe if she had saved something and came back to it later it would have sparked her imagination. Nice use of the words.
Actually, that’s going to come up later.
love the idea of “phantom sentences.” seems almost poetic that the would turn into nothing…disappear (okay…deleted) from existence…out the way they came in. beautifully written…you have left me wondering about Ben…
Come back next week to see Ben in action.
Oooh yes, she was right! Better to have sentences you hate than nothing! It’s always nice to hear the familiar lack of inspiration hitting someone else, even if she’s not real!
so true this happens to us all. I love the way you wrote this
Oooo…I like this. Very well written!
You know,I think I just had this conversation with someone when they started to outthink their characters and got a nasty case of writers block! Well written and I think we have all been there before! Look forward to more!
I can identify with that! Been there, done that and got the tshirt!I hope she gets ‘freed up’ soon. Nice write
I can identify with that! Been there, done that and got the tshirt!I hope she gets ‘freed up’ soon. Nice write
sorry – typing on someone else’s computer! don’t know why this duplicated…
An another writer is born. Cool. And yes, the zone is truly magic.
Can’t wait to hear what Ben has to say about her writing.
Great as usual, Alice!!
Oops! Typos, typos, typos. Sorry.
You really capture a part of the writing process that I find particularly frustrating. Having no words can be as hard as having too many warring ideas that don’t mesh together. I love when the writing just flows that is the most liberating sensation =) Great job!
Just catching up on your last two instalments of Suzie’s House. LOVE this writer’s-eye-view from Lisa. Especially the disappearing movie projector in her head. LOL!
Ain’t that the truth? Sometimes the words come, and sometimes it’s like pulling hen’s teeth from a horse to find anything.
I like your writing style, and I also wanted to thank you for commenting on my story. Yes, it is part of a series I do called Word Play… all 15 stories so far are webbed together around a central storyline.
OMG THIS SOO HAPPENS TO ALL THE TIME!!! Stupid stupid writers block >_<o
And your writing style is INCREDIBLE O_O OMAI jealous XD kidding, but you probably got yourself a new stalker XD
Thanks for the comment on my post too, really appreciate it
A new stalker? Yay!!!
Ah, the frustrations of the writer’s life. I agree with the other comments… I think she should apologize to Ben, but also give herself a little grace. If she’d kept those words, she probably would have reread them the next morning and realized they weren’t too shabby. Entertaining read