Ramblings Of A Writer's Tired Mind!

When the bathroom beckons me for the second time in the past 30 minutes, I realize that it is another conspiracy of the Universe to stop me from writing anything.

I check the ever-vanishing WiFi and I am not surprised to see that it is not even visible in the list of available network connections. My own WiFi deserted me! I open a Word document and start typing.

But what should I write about? There is this insane urge to write something but I am unable to. Since a month, my writing has been on hold because of the kid’s exams. When they finally got over, I tried to blog but I have not been able to write a single word since three days.

Today, in sheer desperation, I searched for some motivational quotes on writing and I stumbled upon this gem.

Write the truest sentence that you know.

The truest sentence at this point of time is that, my brain is tired. And at a great cost, I have finally learnt a lesson that the past three days have tried to teach me – I cannot write with a tired brain.

Of late, the petty matters of the day get me very easily. I have allowed a lot of unwanted stuff to accumulate in my brain. Now it has become tired with the load and is refusing to cooperate with me in my writing process. While I may not be able to write the story that I wanted to, I can share some lessons that this experience has taught me.

The Universe indeed conspires against you:

There will be signs, you know. bathroom beckoning you twice in 30 minutes when usually it beckons you only once, your own WiFi deserting you (and working perfectly for the kid, assisting him in his game), the N key of your keyboard suddenly behaving weirdly which costs you several extra minutes of editing to delete all the extra ‘n’s that get typed, or add the blasted ‘n’ at places where it was required but refused to be inserted, sudden and utterly useless realizations striking in, like your nails grabbing your attention all of a sudden and making you wonder when was the last time you cut them (a year ago?) or the kid’s football demanding a thorough wash – useless stuff like that.

Quotes do come handy:

When nothing works, try the quotes. They work, like they worked in my case. Write the truest sentence you know – motivated me to write this. So far it is working I guess. (Even if it isn’t for you, agree with me. I am writing after a long time, cut me some slack, people!)

Learn from the process, even if you cannot trust it.

Every problem you face in the process of writing will teach you something. I learnt from this experience that a tired mind is not conducive for writing. And the easiest way to tire the mind is to overload it with tons of garbage – regrets, anxieties, worries, grudges and so on. Want to write? Keep your mind light. Feeling a mental overload? Take a chill-pill and do something that makes you feel light. Do not go for the shorts or reels. You keep scrolling mindlessly through them, smiling at the antics of cute animals and suddenly, you find the next reel is an ominous prediction from a time-traveler warning us that 2024 is a dreadful year for humankind. (So far, I have come across three time-travelers, all having dire warnings that range from level 6 hurricanes to nuclear wars. It made me sign off reels and shorts forever).

Know this that once a writer, you will always be one.

Setbacks are temporary. The writer is familiar with many but rises every time, winning over every hurdle and giving words to the idea/story brewing in their mind. (Still I write! Not funny? Just me then.) Trust me that you will write. I do write eventually. Most of it is garbage but hey, as long as I am writing, only that matters, write? I mean, right?

I give up. I should stop when I am ahead.

Hopefully, for the next blog, my mind will be lighter and writer… righter, I mean… ah, never mind.