Battling Writers' Block

I want to address a question from the comments.

For the last several months, I've only been writing my weekly flash fiction, and I've been very terrible - yes: very. terrible - at visiting other blogs, even my favorites. So naturally, there are only a handful of regular-ish readers on this blog. 

Since most of what I do is flash fiction these days, I thought I'd explain a little.

During the A-to-Z Challenge, I actively solicited suggestions from readers, and managed to write an entire month solely using reader prompts! Since then, although my concluding note always asks for prompts in the comments, there have been few. 

Sometimes, like this past Fiction Friday, I sit at my computer with a blank mind. No ideas, no characters, nothing. Writers' Block. There seems to be nothing to write.

However, I am dedicated to my weekly fiction commitment! What to do when the brain is devoid of ideas?

In cases like that, I force myself to sit down - there's a grace period, since I'm 12 hours ahead of the US - and just use whatever phrase or quote comes to mind. For my most recent flash fiction, I ended up editing out my opening line. It happens. I don't even remember what it was.

I have a list of prompts, gleaned from the internet and my verbose husband, but my favorite thing when I'm stuck is to follow a random phrase in my head.

Now, there is ALWAYS a song in my brain. Always. I can't stop it. But also, influences from nature, from TV, from daily life - what would someone else do? - or the illustrious "what if?" and those often feed these little flash fiction tales. 

It's quite freeing, to know that I don't need to follow the story through and actually answer the questions that come up. So WHAT happened to Paige? I don't know. Does she have amnesia? Was she at a resort that brainwashed her? Was it an alien abduction and replacement scenario? 

I don't have a lot of luck with this but...

...What do you think? Which direction should this story go?

Annoyance and Redemption!! - with a smile!

This is “that” day. You know the one: Random annoyances happening that don’t really ruin your day, but seethe just below the surface and make you wish you’d followed your instinct to stay home? I started two different posts, and each ended up in a rant. Not fun. To sum them up, 1) steps are being taken against the office stalker (I can’t claim him to be solely “my” stalker since he creeps out every female in the building.) and 2) I was ranting about Valentine’s day, because although the day is past, I can’t avoid it online.(grr) But I want to end the madness, not continue it, so that’s a no-go subject.

…It's not entirely inconceivable that it could be PMS.

Then I visited the blog of my new internet-fiance (I guess? E-fiance? Blog-fiance?) Future (possibly pretend) spouse? at the Transformed Non-Conformist, and suddenly I have something to write about!

First, he included me as a link in today’s post, and my most recent post was a bit of a cop-out/experiment, not my best example, so I better post something else, quick.

Second, this whole situation is just too weird! He’s right. We’ve never met, and who knows if we ever will. But it’s kind of a fun idea to have an unknown person all signed on for commitment, internet-wise or whatever. Kind of like an out-of-body experience (especially if he really knew me).

Here’s the Twilight Zone-iness: Part of my job, until recently, has involved dealing with folks planning to get married. I’ve seen it all, from the gooey-eyes to the cancellation in tears, from the extreme expectations of a grand day, to the 25 people and a priest. I have this dread that people who are overly concerned about the wedding day are expending their time, money and energy in the wrong direction when they should be saving that energy for the actual marriage. Because another thing this relationship guru (from afar, folks, from afar) has observed is that relationships are work! Why put so much pressure on one day?

So I long ago started informing my coworkers that if I ever did decide to take the plunge, they wouldn’t know anything about it until one day I turned up married.

Re-read that, in case you missed the connection...

Get it???

Lo and behold, I’m internet-engaged and nobody who actually knows me knows anything about it! And bonus: I’ve never even met the guy! It’s all out here in the blogosphere. Just you, my online homies, are in on it. Teehee. Doesn’t it feel good to be in on a giant secret? It’s awesome!

P.S. Brett, I am enjoying every minute of this. I’ll see you on January 1^st. …and by the way, the irony of proposing to The. MOST. anti-Valentine’s Day person on the planet on Valentine’s Day itself, …well, I’m laughing now, but some sort of payback torture is showing in my crystal ball.