Sobriquet 42.8

The following post was originally published on 5/8/08.

I think I may have figured out why I have been having such a difficult time writing. Here's my theory:

1. Since I have not had two days off in a row since March, I have gotten into the habit of writing on my single off days.

2. I like to sleep in on my writing days to ensure that I will be alert enough to write effectively.

3. By starting later, I feel pressured to finish writing early enough to be certain that I will get enough sleep for my early morning class the next day.

4. The anxiety to finish what I set out to write by a reasonable hour makes starting that much harder.

5. By the time I finish writing, generally, it is late and I feel like I haven't had a day off.

6. I get cranky and, consequently, associate that crankiness with writing.

7. So I take my teaching days off to unwind.

Repeat.

I do suspect that if I write in the evenings after work, as I have occasionally done, I will not feel as much pressure because "there's always tomorrow to finish up/fix shit." And, once done writing, I can stay up late knowing that I can sleep in the next day.

And I almost did that today.

Almost.

Instead, I kept reading Foe, which has been an awesome experience. It is fast becoming one of my favorite Coetzee novels.

For tomorrow: Dissertate.