It’s quiet between my ears. The writing went silent.
I don’t have time to worry about it, though, which is a good indication of why I don’t have words. Been logging 12+ hour shifts, have some new responsibilities to go with.
Also, started new med, and after the acclimatization period, am picking up new exercise without dropping the old – have started swimming again, shoehorned into the free time I don’t have. Which involves getting up earlier twice this week so far, rolling out of bed in time to drive to the next city over, shower, swim, shower, and drive home…
This means I’ve been going to bed even earlier, erasing that chunk of the available day. Shifting my sleep schedule is an interesting adventure.
Better reasons than illness, anyway! And I’ll get used to this. Sleep schedule will normalize, I’ll get a handle on everything, and the exercise hopefully will drop some pounds off and leave me with more net energy.
And then (hopefully) the words will come back.
Fortunately, still have one in the publishing pipeline! Dust of the Ocean had been delayed by my Calmer Half trying to get a storage unit cleared, and catching a small fever and cough after dealing with the dust and crud. But we plan to get it out before the end of the month!
Mad Genius Club 
13 responses to “It’s quiet…”
The mental shift to Day Job resuming was a great “new words killer”. I just want to curl up and hide (mentally) instead of writing. The good news is that I have edits to do. For me. that process is sort of half-way between new words and cerebral numbness.
As you say, once the routine settles into place, things come back.
One of the best ways to burn fat is to lift heavy. Not only does the exercise burn calories, the recovery also burns a lot of calories. If you can find a good Strongman or Powerlifting trainer, you might want to try it. I know that I really enjoyed Strongman and the huge variety of exercises.
That’s the “without dropping the old” exercise part. I’ve been weightlifting for over 5 years now, doing Starting Strength. It’s really good for a lot of things, but weightlifting alone, with no aerobics, does not keep my weight down. Past a certain point, it’s impossible to bulk without adding fat as well as muscle, just as it’s impossible to cut without losing muscle as well as fat.
Unfortunately, after it became impossible to hide that my limitation on the prowler was how long I could push it before the inevitable asthma attack, the gym manager had strong words with me about not inducing life-threatening medical emergencies in her gym.
Hopefully, if the swimming proves out, I will either be able to fit it into my schedule as a routine thing, or I will be able to prove to her that I am now medicated enough that I will be allowed to push the prowler again.
In all fairness, it IS hard to concentrate on a heavy lift when paramedics are trotting back and forth. (Too heavy weight + showing off + poor form = unplanned departure in a different vehicle than he came in. Don’t be That Dude.)
I will not be That Guy.
No, instead, I will be Shanghaied without any warning into being The Reason why That Guy got told to go shower off the Axe Body Spray, or go home.
When I tried to protest, with what breath I had left, thank G-d and rescue inhalers, that my medical issues are mine own to deal with, and I’m not out to make the world conform to my needs… I was informed that I was to sit there, shut up, and get better.
One of the nearby lifters waited until she was out of range to opine “At least she didn’t end it with ‘…and add five pounds.’”
I flip between stories when that happens. Dangerous habit. Also it doesn’t always work.
“It’s quiet… Too Quiet!” [Crazy Grin]
[Yes, I just had to say that|!] 😉
Why no, siree, I am not tempting fate and the muse* with this post. Why do you ask?
**Faith and the Muse was a great band. Loved “In Dreams of Mine.” Fate and the muse… do I taunt, or do I complement, by the comparison?
Of topic question, but I figure that if anyone can help me find the answer, you guys can:
I remember a quote that people have used, either here or at According to Hoyt that goes something to the effect of “There’s a term for people who mistake the opinions of a character for those of the author. That term is ‘idiot.’” But I’ve tried googling a number of versions of that, and I can’t find it. Does anyone remember the full quote or who said it?
From the wiki entry for “Niven’s Laws”
In the acknowledgments of his 2003 novel Conquistador, S.M. Stirling wrote:
And a special acknowledgment to the author of Niven’s Law: “There is a technical, literary term for those who mistake the opinions and beliefs of characters in a novel for those of the author. The term is ‘idiot’.”
End Quote
Not sure if Larry Niven actually said that but S. M Stirling attributes it to Niven.
Dude, you are awesome. We have such great commenters around here!
Ah shucks, praise for reading the acknowledgements from Conquistador? 😉
Weirdly enough, I can forget the simplest things but remember things like that. 😀
Words have been dead for the last week or so. The week before that had been pretty good: stuck at a work-conference which gave me a longer commute (more reliable dictation time), and enough downtime for dictation cleanup. Just seem to go through phases where there just isn’t anything there to give, creatively speaking.