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Writer’s Block or Making Excuses
I don’t have writer’s block—at least not in the conventional sense. Once I pick a topic, the words seem to flow —with some careful editing. And I love to write on Ricochet. But I just feel like I don’t have much to say anymore. We have so many skilled writers on Ricochet, and they often seem to know precisely what to write on.
There are those who write on the politics of the day: what comment by Trump has enraged the media; where is the latest issue where the Republicans have stepped in it; are we hopeless to have any effect against the Progressive movement?
There are those who have exotic pasts, intriguing family members (I’m looking at you, @she), moving life situations.
There are those who are enormously witty and clever, who can write me under the table when it comes to humor.
There are the radical issues that always garner input: transgenderism, body mutilation, toxic masculinity—all important topics, and some I’ve written on and commented on.
There are some personal topics: Judaism, hospice, guns, problem-solving, and other miscellaneous topics—all which I’ve written on and probably annoyed people beyond their tolerance level.
So I’m sitting here, saying to myself, after writing posts for many years, do I have anything new to say? I’ve written to some degree on all the topics I’ve mentioned above. But writing on politics doesn’t speak to me at the moment, exotic experiences are not in my past or present, and I can be funny sometimes but I’d hardly call myself a witty writer (although I still love the post I wrote on John Kelly raiding the Department of Justice).
Is there a topic that hasn’t been beaten to within an inch of its life? Are there subjects that are important to me, that I can learn from and ask people to share their understanding so that I can learn from them?
Please don’t misunderstand. I read a lot of posts on Ricochet, on all the topics I’ve highlighted, and many are insightful. But I’m just not moved to write on them myself right now.
Fortunately, I had an insight this morning that might just help me along. The topic, “Small Subjects, Big Ideas,” showed up. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I think there are a lot of important but neglected topics in the news: topics or stories that are intriguing, tragic, uplifting, educational, and even funny. Subjects that motivate me to think, to figure out why they appeal to me, to investigate what I have to learn from them. And they are hopefully topics that you will learn from and enjoy, too. I only hope that this will move me in a positive and productive direction.
Thoughts?
Published in General
Susan,
Please continue contributing to Group Writing and Quote of the Day.
You’d be terribly missed otherwise!
Actually I’ve discovered that both venues will fit beautifully with my goals! In fact, I have one more date to set for a quote I found in my reading today. And thank you for the kind words. It means a lot, @vectorman.
Susan,
I hear what you’re saying. Increasingly, I find myself bogged down in the meta-issues of writing: what’s the point of it, what do I want to achieve, what do I have to say that hasn’t been said, or that hasn’t been said clearly or often enough to whatever audience I imagine addressing.
The signal-to-noise ratio of discourse seems to be declining. More people are able to express themselves easily to relatively large audiences and, while I applaud the freedom that implies, I don’t think it actually makes the conversation better.
It seems to me that one of two things should generally be true for commentary to useful. Either it should reflect a lot of thought and consideration of the idea being expressed, or it should be an expression of something deeply sensible, and probably self-evident, but nonetheless verboten in the current social climate.
Given where things stand today, I think we are more in need of the latter — of the the-emperor-has-no-clothes style of discourse — than the former. The more untethered and outlandish the opposition, the more important it is to remind people just how foolish are the things they’re being
askedtold to believe.It’s hard to stay focused on that when increasingly preposterous ideas are flung at us daily, and when any sniping crackpot on Twitter can drive the national news cycle for 48 hours. It’s hard not to be distracted — as with the Gillette ad, or something the youngest and silliest member of the House chirps — and mired in the maelstrom of current-event nonsense.
But it’s also hard to muster the energy to write something measured and thoughtful, knowing that it’s going to be fed into the sound-bite-and-tweet driven maw of the popular outrage machine.
So I spend my time thinking about how to state and defend simple truths, things we all know but are, more and more, afraid to say in polite company for fear of seeming intolerant. In seas as windy and turbulent as these, dropping an anchor seems the most productive thing to do.
Such a thoughtful and meaningful comment, @henryracette. Yes, you’ve described parts of my reticence in writing, and I so respect your thought on this topic. I like very much your comments on saying the unspeakable. It’s not always pretty, but it’s true and important. Thanks for weighing in.
I returned to Rico a while ago after a hiatus – don’t really remember when the hiatus started or ended. Off the top of my head I can only think of a couple of original posts I’ve put up since then, and one of those involved a personal perspective on my grandfather (and Oh! Could I tell everyone new stuff I’ve learned about him!!!).
From what I’ve seen, however, I remain quite reluctant to make an effort since it often seems like every post that ventures into anything beyond personal experience becomes a war between Pro and Anti Trump foes. It really is sickening how so many people across the spectrum have taken leave of their senses over this man.
I know of what you speak! But if you have personal stories, people on Ricochet love them. I think in a sense we love to know each other better, since we are separated by these walls of controversy. But we break through, if only for a few moments, when we share of ourselves. I hope, if you have more stories, you will share them. Every time I get to know a Rico poster better (and I feel like I’ve grown to at least have a sense of many them), I am always moved by their vulnerability and sharing. Thanks, @thegreatadventure.
I love reading your posts. My hunch is that now that you have no issues to write about, something will spring forward.
“Don’t push the river, it flows by itself.”
Thanks, Gary. I appreciate that. I’ve gotten to the point that writing is an expression that really fills my soul–even if it’s on silly stuff. And I love to have people share in my joy, my concern, my outrage, my poignancy. And hearing back from them is just as joyous, whether they agree with me or not!
This topic always prompts a childhood memory of this LP recording:
You might try hanging out in a Barnes & Noble bookstore for a few hours, see what’s on their tables. See what interests you. If it interests you, it will interest others too. As much as I love libraries, I enjoy bookstores more. It’s so much fun to be in the midst of the American mind, to see what the current conversations are about. :-)
I keep on finding absurd articles written about my favorite topic, so I continue to tilt at windmills by writing responses. After searching for a decade, I talked with a person who thinks he has a copy of an important document that may tell us critical details about the origins of GPS. When his basement renovation is done at the beginning of March, I may finally see what it contains. So there’s plenty keeping me interested in my little bailiwick. On the other hand, I agree that the T-NT argument is getting stale.
The political has become personal, for good or ill. So, I’ll try to share what interests and affects me personally (hopefully without narcissism, that’s boring). Perhaps not as frequently, but more fruitfully, I’ll “start a conversation”.
SQ, I enjoy your reflections on the everyday beauty you encounter. @henryracette, I still recall how much I was drawn in to your post on Hopper’s “Nighthawks”. If art or music still acts as a catalyst for thought, please give in to its prompting! :-)
Looking for Inspiration Cues?
Thanks for the shoutout, @susanquinn. Please don’t stop writing!
There are some grand ideas and insights in the comments above, and I also love your idea of writing in the general direction of “small subjects, big ideas.” In the words of poor, demented William Blake:
It’s really not necessary to try to save the world with every post. Sometimes, insights come from the smallest things. The writing that touches me most is that which brings a smile to my face, or which reminds me that I’m not alone in this crazy world, and that sometimes the problems of one or two (or three) little people do amount to a hill of beans in it.
I make a conscious decision not to write about what everybody else is writing about, not only because, if lots of other people are writing about it, the law of averages says that many of them are smarter than me and know more than I do, and I don’t want to embarrass and frustrate myself, but also because, as a reader, I have a limited tolerance for what’s essentially the same thing over and over, followed by page after page of predictable comments on the topic. Ricochet shines when it’s a conversation among its members about the subjects that interest them, whether politics, the fine or practical arts, philosophy, history, sports, or anything else. It’s the members, and what they have to say, that make Ricochet what it is. If I want a news or Twitter aggregator, there are plenty elsewhere, and I can always go there to get myself all worked up. Here, we have the luxury of kicking back and actually having a challenging, or a relaxing, conversation about those, and other, interesting things with new people, and people we’ve come to know.
I also don’t shy away from personal experience, because, really, what’s more universal than personal experience? After all, each of us has it, each of us responds to it (differently) and each of us can learn from, or be amused by, our own and that of others. And we’re likely to be most interesting (I think) when we write about something that interests us. And what’s more interesting than meeeeeeeeee? (Kidding. I hope.)
So, yes, please write some posts on the
Do that, and I know I will! Because it sounds like a perfect fit for this site.
Looking forward to your next post.
You know, it’s not a crime, or even a venal sin, to sit back and just be a reader for a bit.
I don’t know where inspiration comes from. Though I’ve heard you can buy it from Amazon, and it will arrive at your door in less than 48 hours.
I think you are experiencing a normal healthy process that’s part of writing. I feel the same way, and go through dry moments, but have decided if I have something to share, I will. Otherwise, I’ll just read. Nothing you write has been annoying either. Sometimes writers are very critical of themselves – I am and that almost causes me to hold back or alter my original thought. Then I post and worry if people will not like it or be offended – oh well. It’s a new year and a resolution to go with the flow!
Susan, you and I are much alike. You’re not my long-lost Jewish mother, are you? Did you at one time live in Compton with a red-headed son?
I used to post about once a week, but I’m out of low-hanging-fruit topics. I’ve mined my past and there’s no more ore there. I’ve even run out of Bob the Dog stories.
So I’m reduced to commenting occasionally.
I may sign up for the Daily Quote list.
Maybe in another life?! Do sign up for the Quote of the Day list. Go to Omega Paladin’s post on the Main Page and the link is in the comments. @vectorman does a great job of managing it. Also, @cliffordbrown just came up with a new topic: How Do You Make That? Perfect for you! His call for sign-ups is on the Member Feed. Go for it. It’s fun!
How about efficiency in government? The last three times I had to go to our local DMV, I was in and out in under 15 minutes, one time under five . . .
Heh. My trips aren’t quite that quick, but they aren’t bad.
That’s generally true. As much as I dislike bloated government, and think Leviathan is wildly out of control, I have to admit that most of my interactions with government agencies are reasonably pleasant.
Most.
I have found myself (ususally occupying the receiving end of human emissions) listening less to conservative radio, the “mainstream” press having become absurd some time ago. It just seems like once the midterms were over, although there will always be “new” small subtopics, the general outlines of everything have been there and maybe something in the brain just entered a “wake me again when there’s a big story” mode. Something like the culmination of the Mueller operation and consequent reactions.
Working on a post on that topic now.
It was pretty simple what they did. They added a gatekeeper who spoke with everyone to find out what each person was there for. She (yes, a woman all three times I went) would hand out forms, even take care of simple tasks herself (such as turning in a no-longer-needed license plate). Only after speaking with her and receiving the forms were people assigned a letter-number combination (not a sequential number as usually done, but seemingly random).
The last time I went (to get a RealID license), my number was called before I even had a chance to fill out the form. The gal waited for me to fill the form out, then processed the application, took my picture (blech), and gave me my new license – 15 minutes total from when I first walked in the door . . .
Good examples like this should be praised and replicated.