"Writer's Block"
“Minsoo, what are you—”
“DIFFRACTING.”
“… Very funny. What are you doing?”
“…”
“… What are you supposed to be doing.”
(sigh) “I’m supposed to be writing.”
“Writing?”
“Yeah.”
“Is this for some kind of assignment?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Is this that…NaNoWriMo?”
“It’s pronounced ‘NaNoWriMo’. But no. That’s in November.”
“So then…”
(sigh) “Hey, Morgan, what if I’m all out of ideas?”
“… What are you talking about?”
“Like, my wellspring of creativity has just dried up. I feel like I’m staring at a brick wall. Standing three inches from the wall.”
“Clearly you can still metaphor.”
“Thanks.”
“Seriously, Minsoo, what are you talking about?”
“I haven’t written anything in months. I’ve barely gotten the urge to write anything in months.”
“I’ve never gotten the urge to write anything in my life.”
“Yeah, yeah, but…that’s different. It’s like…how would you feel if you went for months without, I don’t know, watching a movie?”
“You do remember I was a Film minor?”
“That’s kinda my point. I might not write all the time, but it’s something I do enough that it’s…I don’t know, a part of me? So now when I haven’t done it for months…”
“O…kay.”
“… So this is like ‘can I still write’. Do I still have stories to tell.”
“And that’s why you were lying facedown on the couch.”
“Mmf.”
“You do realize we haven’t cleaned that couch since—”
“Yes, I know.”
“Mm.”
“…”
“… So what are you going to write about?”
“I don’t know.”
“… Well. I’m going to the store; do you want anything?”
“Which store?”
“Grocery store.”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something ten minutes after you leave.”
“Well, you can always text me.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck with your writing.”
“Mmf.”
Ooh, a story about writer’s block. How meta.
Like I said in my opening post for NaCreSoMo, I’ve been feeling like Minsoo lately. This particular vignette is pretty self-indulgent, but I had actually thought of it several weeks ago. Unfortunately, back then I had an idea for where it was going and now I don’t. Oh well, better luck tomorrow. (Best case, we’ll see flatmates Minsoo and Morgan come back in a later story.)
“DIFFRACTING” is from SMBC.
Part of NaCreSoMo; join us!
Besides this piece, I’d also like to mention what was sort of a “NaCreSoMo Day 0” for me this year: a production called 24 Hour Theatre. This was started by one of my friends from Berkeley, and another friend has been trying to get me to join each of them up until now. This time around my weekend was free, and I hadn’t acted in a long time, so why not?
The premise: twelve hours on Friday for writers to write a short play, then twelve hours on Saturday for directors and actors to make it happen—including casting, staging, and (successfully!) learning our lines and getting off-book.
I was in a piece called “I Know Why The Caged Birdman Sings” (title mostly just because the author liked it), which was about a failing artist trying to come to grips with repeated rejections. Somehow we pulled it off (thanks to a talented director and fellow cast members!). The performance was recorded, so if/when it gets put online this month I’ll post a link to it. (EDIT: That was fast. One day.) It felt great to be acting again, especially because I don’t consider myself to be a very strong actor (yet!).
“Assistant Producer” and fellow NaCreSoMo participant Alex has a much more in-depth write-up of the event, including both detailed summaries of the pieces and her own experiences from the event.