I think writing is my favorite thing in the universe. Better than sex (but just barely). Better than anything.
It’s nice to have something you can feel that way about.
And oh so better than chocolate
Published by Nancy E. Shaffer
NANCY E. SHAFFER has been an experimental psychologist (M.A., Cognitive Psychology, Rice University), a philosopher (Ph.D., History and Philosophy of Science, University of California, Davis), and software developer. She taught history and philosophy of science at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her philosophical work has appeared in the journal Philosophy of Science and her pop-culture philosophy website, All Things Philosophical on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series. Dis/inhbition is her first novel. She currently resides in Tempe, Arizona. View all posts by Nancy E. Shaffer
Author Nancy E. Shaffer 
See, for me, writing is like drugs. I hate it, passionately. I rail against it and shout and stamp my feet and complain endlessly to anyone who will listen. But when I can’t do it? I’m simply unbearable.
I think I’m just a grouch.
Writing for me is like drugs (or drinking) in that I’ve spent many a lost weekend doing nothing else, not seeing the light of day or other human beings.
Of course there are days when I hate it, when nothing but shit (or nothing AT ALL) comes out of my keyboard or pen. And there are days when I work and work and work at it, but all I’m doing is correcting my spelling and reordering my sentences and hitting myself over the head with my thesaurus.
But when the writing is good? Wow. Yeah. That’s the stuff.
I can count the number of stories I’ve written that I’ve genuinely enjoyed writing on one hand. Hell, I can count them on two fingers. And, curiously (or not so curiously) I think they are the best things I’ve written. Hmmm, maybe there is a pattern there. Perhaps I should write less and enjoy more. But I get attacked by ideas, thoughts that I don’t have the capacity to realise, and so I grouch. And practise.
Well, yeah, writing’s only fun when you like what’s coming out of your fingers. Or when you don’t care and just want to scribble words.
And it’s best when what’s coming out of your fingers matches (or exceeds) what’s percolating in your mind.
It’s when you can’t translate between what’s in the brain and what’s coming out that it sucks to high heaven.
And, of course, when your brain isn’t percolating at all.
Oh yes. For the most part it is just wonderful. Oh occasionally it’s like pulling teeth (mostly for me that’s when I’m doing non-fiction) but I love to write. I’m looking forward to tonight. I’ve been very good at not eating crap today so I can go to this bar and have beer and pizza and write. This place (Pizza Haven) is like Serendity. I have a screen play I’m working on set in Wisconsin with a very specific kind of bar.
I move to northern WI and my new boss takes me to the Haven and I realize down to almost every detail it’s the bar from my script. Even told the owner as much. So tonight, beer, pizza and sitting there working on my script (with people probably wondering who’s the weird chick who comes to a bar and writes?)
Oh! I love your life!
OK, just another moment of relating fondly with much hyperbole. Ahem. That sounds like a nice way to spend a Friday evening.
I’ll be having pizza, too, with a friend (the consummate city gal–she thrives on all of this anxiety-inducing stuff) at her house. A little DVD as well.
Then, with the exception of an outing on Sunday morning with another friend (the Museum of Modern Art – one of those things that cities are actually *good* for), I am going to spend my three-day weekend in my recliner with my computer on my lap tapping away.
I hope. Saying stuff like this sometimes jinxes it. High maintenace muses, you know.
You are probably the first person ever to love my life. Most of my friends run from it in fear…
Hmm my brand spanking new dvd player is in the box I’m trying to decide, keep the 20$ modulator and watch it on the big tv which is too old to have dvd ports or take ’em back and watch the dvd’s on the tiny 13″ one which has the ports…
Have a fun weekend. Here’s hoping we both write a lot (right now I’m research all over the net for my lecture. I MUST buy another anatomy book. The one for my class is too basic to make a lecture and the ONLY anatomy book B&N had was Anatomy for Dummies (which frankly is a good book but it’s the prinicpal of the thing)
Have a fun weekend yourself.
I am a self-proclaimed “TV whore”, but I don’t have cable and watch my DVDs on a 13-inch television screen.
You know, I spent all my money on the DVDs. And the computer.
Well once I get the lesson plan part of it done I’m sure it will be. The beer/pizza (and frozen custard) went well.
Way I see it, I’m more thanhalf blind as it is. I don’t want to squint at a 13″ tv. Heh, don’t spend that much on DVD’s (yet, give me time), Books and cds (though those are tapering off)
Thank heavens for such addictions. Without it my addiction to reading would be very hard to maintain.
My pizza/Nip-Tuck evening didn’t go quite so well. My friend Gloria invited along another friend at the last minute, someone I had never met, and I was in sort of a foul mood after I scraped the side of my new car and I’m afraid I was a little bit of a bitch to her friend. I was just in one of those moods where it’s OK to be around a good friend like Gloria who knows me and can blow it off, but this other woman, not so much. Plus, this other woman didn’t like Nip/Tuck and sat and made fun of it through our entire watching, which aggravated me, but at that point I was trying very hard to be polite and said nothing.
I’m going to bed now to sleep off the bitchiness. ; )
Oooh, today when I wrote this journal entry, I was writing my new sooper sekrit story, too.
That sucks (especially about the car). I’ve had nights like that. They’ve made me hate certain movies/tv shows so much that years later I still can’t watch them.
I guess your muse is back and well? 🙂
Not my novel muse. She’s still hiding, peaking out ocassionally wondering what I’m doing.
No, this is about my new muse. I just love to be writing again. Something fresh and interesting (unlike my novel) where I don’t know what’s going to happen next.