A Funky Day Translated into Fiction
We all have them . . . those days when we’re just in a funk, feeling like we don’t really want to do anything, like even if we attempt to do anything we won’t accomplish it. I’m having one of those days today. Hard to drag myself out of the bed because it’s overcast and I have a sinus headache. Annoyed with the people on the radio for droning on and on and on about how they need all their listeners to send them money instead of just giving me Morning Edition as usual. Annoyed that it took me longer to get ready this morning so that when I left the house, I knew I would be ten minutes late to work (not that it’s a huge deal if that happens every once in a while, just that I hate being late). Frustrated that after joining Weight Watchers last night, I was so tired that I just sat in front of the TV for a couple of hours before going to bed instead of reading through the materials and figuring out what I’m going to eat today to start the Core plan.
It would be so easy to just give up today. Not deal with the diet until tomorrow. Not post a blog entry. Not write. Just coast. Do what has to be done at work, skip the gym (because my walking partner can’t go tonight), and go home and watch Miss Austen Regrets and possibly pull screen captures from Sense & Sensibility and post my final thoughts on it and the Jane Austen series.
But I’m not going to allow myself to do that. I’m going to take what I’m feeling and pour it into my writing. I’m going to give one of my characters the same kind of funky mood that I have right now . . . which is going to be really bad, because they’re putting on this fancy-schmancy menu tasting for the board of the charity they’re planning a benefit for. There’s nothing like having to put your best-foot forward when you’re in a mood like this!
What do you do when you feel this way? Do you make yourself write? How do you channel your energies (positive or negative) into your fiction?
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KayeDacus.com 
Man, you are in my head today. I’m crashing after having such a high on Monday. And I’ve caught my son’s cold. This is making me bleary eyed and snarky.
I’m going to do more tweaks on the mss and send them off, then I’m going to curl up with a good movie and maybe even do some xstitch. MM can wait until tomorrow. 🙂
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I’m tweaking mine too, Erika, then off it goes. This has been such fun.
Anyway, to the point. On a day like Kaye describes I usually cut myself a break. I don’t have them often, because I love what I get to wake up each morning and do (write). But sometimes… I go shopping, or I watch a favorite movie or DVD episode, or I read a good book. Or I call up a friend and go have tea. It’s never a wasted day. I figure my soul is telling me I need an extra Sabbath to recharge, for whatever reason.
But some days like when I’m feeling that funk I have a different discernment, and so I make myself go through the motions of my normal routine, and you know what? Quite often I come out of that funk after a few hours.
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Thankfully I don’t have as many days like this as I used to–I remember when they were quite frequent. Right now I’m going through something similar because I’m officially in between projects. I think I’ll feel better when I get something going.
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I’m actually rather brain dead today. Does that count as a Funky day? I stayed up until 3:15 a.m. this morning, last night, assembling my new desk and credenza and…well, now my writing is suffering for it.
I’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight and make up for it tomorrow, I pray!
I think it’s a great idea to infuse your mood into your ms, especially if the scene suites it. Or, perhaps we can change our own mood, by writing our characters into a mood we wish we owned today.
I think tomorrow I’ll give my heroine a boost of energy, then maybe I’ll feel that way myself!
Thanks for the great post, Kaye!
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