The Silence must fall…

“Silence will fall when the Question is asked…”-Doctor Who, The Wedding of River Song

My personal philosophy as a writer is to never give into “writer’s block”. I even go so far as to say I don’t believe in it. Yet here I sit in silence. My characters (the ones I need anyway) are off taking a vacation and I don’t approve. Mainly because I wasn’t invited. Instead I’m stuck in my makeshift office with characters from a new “world” who keep telling me about their syrupy sweet love story. I’m starting to have a glimmer of belief that the block does in fact exist.

 I need the Silence to fall.

The days I’ve gone without writing are like tallys on my forearm, marking my shame at the few words that I’ve penned each day. Despite my desire to write the words vanish on their way to the page, leaving me feeling unmotivated. I’ve tried my tricks to get my head back in the game, but the Silence remains…

Another day another tally.

During my involuntary time away from writing, I’ve celebrated my minion’s 4th birthday by giving her a set of electronic drums. Turns out she doesn’t care much for them. However, I’ve discovered that I have a hidden talent ( I use that term loosely) for the drums. I can carry a beat well enough to fool my husband into thinking it’s one of the pre-programmed songs. Don’t look for me in any bands yet (read: ever), but it is a fun distraction. Distractions aside there comes a time where the Silence overwhelms me.

“…the Question is asked…”

My magical question is: What am I going to do about it? Distractions have accomplished nothing but put more unseen tally marks on my arm. Frustration at the odd absence of voices in my head has kept all words away from my WIP. Both have contributed to my disillusionment with the entire WIP.

Fallen.

As I’ve written this piece I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had the answer all along. Write. I don’t have to like it. That’s what first drafts are for. I need to remember that my WIP is a lot like putting up a house. Lay down the foundation, put up the walls, tack on a roof, but worry about painting the walls and decorating the rooms later. I have the foundation and some of the walls. Now it’s time to get busy dividing up the rest of my rooms and putting on a nice roof. I’ll worry about the paint and furniture later. So here I go. Wish me luck, because now it’s time to…

Write.