The $%*! frustration thread

[Syna]

TOO MUCH TO READ, WRITE, AND DO.

and no thanks to you lot here!

All in due time, and now is the time for bike rides, local theater, and dinner with friends. I hope you're all as pleasantly frustrated with what is good in life as I am.

[rushingwind]

I echo the rest of the crowd in saying, "Holy smokes! How am I supposed to catch up on the posts here?!?!"

It's quality reading, but still. I'm so behind, haha.

[tushantin]

I hope you're all as pleasantly frustrated with what is good in life as I am.

XD I bid the same to you, because apparently being human isn't good enough (blame the Sumerians and Egyptians).

Glad you're enjoying yourself. Though, my frustrations lie with people who have false visions of joy, and certainly not like yours. I really wish those people could see "life" beyond a pack of cigarettes, bottle of booze and all-night-out gaming/partying.

I echo the rest of the crowd in saying, "Holy smokes! How am I supposed to catch up on the posts here?!?!"

Couldn't have put it better myself!

[Lord J Esq]

I hope you're all as pleasantly frustrated with what is good in life as I am.

Absolutely. =)

Watching Totoro shortly with a friend! What a classic...

[Sajainta]

Watching Totoro shortly with a friend! What a classic...

I love that movie.  It reminds me so much of my childhood.  The scenery, their house, and the various myths made me feel like I was back home in Cebu.  Two different countries, I know, but there were so many similarities and it made me so homesick.

[Sajainta]

I slept for four hours Friday night, and so I was expecting to have a nice, long sleep last night.  Yeeeah, didn't happen.  I was exhausted, but as soon as I started getting ready for bed I just felt the urge to write more for the short novel I've been working on for the past month.  And so I started writing.  And writing.  And writing.  Seven hours later, and I've been writing non-stop.  It's absolutely exhilarating but dear lord, writing can take such a huge toll on your well-being (as I'm sure some of you well know).

So I'm not frustrated with any of the thunder-bolt impulses I get to pour myself out onto a page, I'm frustrated because I never sleep.

[tushantin]

I slept for four hours Friday night, and so I was expecting to have a nice, long sleep last night.  Yeeeah, didn't happen.  I was exhausted, but as soon as I started getting ready for bed I just felt the urge to write more for the short novel I've been working on for the past month.  And so I started writing.  And writing.  And writing.  Seven hours later, and I've been writing non-stop.  It's absolutely exhilarating but dear lord, writing can take such a huge toll on your well-being (as I'm sure some of you well know).

I feel ya. The only thing in life that interrupts me from writing is life itself. I wish I had several days of free time to properly pour myself onto a page too.

[Sajainta]

I feel ya. The only thing in life that interrupts me from writing is life itself. I wish I had several days of free time to properly pour myself onto a page too.

This this this.  I know exactly what you mean and I feel the same way.  I only have time to write in the wee hours of the morning every other day or so, which is fine because it's when I'm the most alert (I have the weirdest sleeping schedule), but I wish I could write all the time.

[Mr Bekkler]

Nothing's going right today (or yesterday). Visited my girlfriend this weekend but had to drive six hours early yesterday to get back for band practice and a show. Got back but practice was cancelled cause the drummer had to work late(if I had known I could have had more time with my gf). Played the show, did well, got paid, had a massive PA speaker in my passenger seat on the way home, stopped at a red light, the speaker tipped forward and destroyed my windshield. Talked to gf last night after everything, she says she is supposed to go to breakfast with friends in the morning but she wants to skype first and see my face. I got my hopes up, called her this morning, and she decided she needs to go to breakfast and it in fact our skype date that can wait. Called insurance while walking to the store for cigarettes, store didn't have my brand, had to walk home and drive my glassy car to another store. Fuck today. I know it's 9-11 but that doesn't mean today HAS to suck. Ugh.

[tushantin]

...(Falls over laughing) Ahahaha!! Sorry 'bout that. Somehow it sounded like stuff happening to Garfield at Mondays. XDDD

You've hit quite a streak of bad luck.  Sometimes I wonder if Lady Luck does that on purpose when she is mischievous, or whether she's really that clumsy. Does your girl really live that far? You could always tell her, "Introduce your friends to me!  " and get into their good shoes. Not only will you get to spend time with her but also, if her friends are impressed with your good character, they'd buoy her with that, "Ooh! You two are made for each other" kinda thing.

...Or you could throw away that advise. Just an opinion, but I could be wrong. Just that socializing with her friends help, in a way that strengthens your bond. Of course, I can't help with the windshield or cigarette (I'm not Santa Claus, but I wish I was).

[Lord J Esq]

I am very fortunate to have essentially as much time as I want to spend on my personal writing, since I control my work schedule and my expenses. Unfortunately, when ample time becomes available, it reveals other obstacles which may have previously been concealed. Writing can be immensely enjoyable...and damn annoying. =)

[Mr Bekkler]

Does your girl really live that far? You could always tell her, "Introduce your friends to me!  " and get into their good shoes. Not only will you get to spend time with her but also, if her friends are impressed with your good character, they'd buoy her with that, "Ooh! You two are made for each other" kinda thing.

...Or you could throw away that advise. Just an opinion, but I could be wrong. Just that socializing with her friends help, in a way that strengthens your bond.

Yeah she went back to school so she lives 6 hours away. It's not her friends, I like them, they like me, but I felt like I was being avoided. At least I've been able to talk to her since and we got everything sorted out without getting mad at each other.

[Syna]

Hurray for Totoro!!

It's been a long, long while since I've been able to chase inspiration for hours on end like Saj & tush have described. Unfortunately, writing for a living has its downsides, one of which is that when I have the time to work on my own pieces, I'm often shivering with restlessness. The last thing I want to do is write even more, so I scribble for a half-hour and am distracted by a cat or a friend (or an internet forum!) and the cause is lost.

In certain meaningful respects, I've been able to flourish in this position, and I've had ample ground to experiment with interactive narratives in a way that may one day translate to projects I actually give a damn about.

On the other hand, the writing I do may be "creative" but it's not art; none of it is close to what I'd be doing if my time were my own, I must bend to any halfbrained expectation a client happens to have, and I must write in a way that's acceptable for an audience with a "8th grade reading level," which has taken a measurable toll on my vocabulary >_>  

And here I am whining about my good fortune; I'll stop. I'll try to transform my envy of those early-morning writing sessions - exhausting as they are - into a drive to stay up late and wait patiently until inspiration, that oft-tardy houseguest, arrives. (Preferably with wine.)

Here's something I read sometimes when I'm feeling emptied out: http://therumpus.net/2010/08/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-48-write-like-a-motherfucker/.

We get the work done on the ground level. And the kindest thing I can do for you is to tell you to get your ass on the floor. I know it’s hard to write, darling. But it’s harder not to. The only way you’ll find out if you “have it in you” is to get to work and see if you do. The only way to override your “limitations, insecurities, jealousies, and ineptitude” is to produce. You have limitations. You are in some ways inept. This is true of every writer, and it’s especially true of writers who are 26. You will feel insecure and jealous. How much power you give those feelings is entirely up to you.

[tushantin]

I am very fortunate to have essentially as much time as I want to spend on my personal writing, since I control my work schedule and my expenses. Unfortunately, when ample time becomes available, it reveals other obstacles which may have previously been concealed. Writing can be immensely enjoyable...and damn annoying. =)

Share how you do it, man. I'd be grateful. XD (I wonder why we call it "grateful" since we don't grate anything in such instances)

Unfortunately, writing for a living has its downsides, one of which is that when I have the time to work on my own pieces, I'm often shivering with restlessness. The last thing I want to do is write even more, so I scribble for a half-hour and am distracted by a cat or a friend (or an internet forum!) and the cause is lost.

Hey, getting distracted by cats is acceptable (those damn bastards love to play, but this keeps you healthy too), although you don't necessarily have to type things out. xD You could always use sheaves of paper and/or pen and break the rules of writing (scribble all over the place till your mind stabilizes and you hit a jackpot). If nothing else works, then you always have Taxonomy (on traditional Index Cards), or even Mind Mapping!

There's just something about traditional writing that feels good compared to quickly typing stuff out. Yes you're slow (and I'm horrible at writing traditionally, and you know why), but there's this intriguing feel to it I just can't explain. Also, visual writing is rad!

Haha that Sugar quote is quite true. A person will never find their potential unless they touch their creative self and push! And I believe that a lot of us Compendiumites are those fortunate mofos who already have.  

[Lord J Esq]

My frustration of the evening is writer's block. In addition to prose and the occasional play and poem, I compose music. I don't have the technical experience, theoretical grounding, or expensive software that most people who compose music have, and I can't play any musical instrument particularly well, although I have a synthesizer keyboard that's missing me while it sits in storage in Seattle.

No, what I have is a copy of Noteworthy Composer and General MIDI to hear playbacks.

But! I also have a lifetime of appreciating music (though who doesn't?), and my imagination extends to the world of music very naturally. I compose a fair amount of musics, and I try to remind myself that it would sound a little bit better if I dropped a few hundred dollars on nicer software. It doesn't come easily for me like writing words does, and, to be honest, my music is not all that great, but I enjoy writing it and I've been slowly getting better over the years.

With prose, I rarely get writer's block. But with music, it can hit me like a brick wall. Last night, after my contribution to the Josh Is a Dick thread, I forewent my intention to do paid work and spent the entire night composing twenty seconds of music that sound fucking great. (And it's not only twenty seconds long, but sixteen channels deep. This is a work for symphony orchestra.) By the end of the night my ears hurt, my eyes were strained, I had a headache, and my stomach was disgruntled from nothing but coffee, chili, and soda. I had made no money and my mind was turned to mush. But I had achieved some of the best-sounding MIDI squawks I'd ever written, and I'd done it from scratch. (It's amazing how an entire piece of music can derive from a metaphor that fits into a single measure.)

I watched the moonset, the sunrise, and went to bed. (We usually keep nighttime hours here.) This afternoon I woke up, refreshed and all that, and, after contributing my latest to the Josh Is a Dick thread, I gathered my wits and set to work on my composition.

Brick. Friggin'. Wall. I've spent three hours for no gains whatsoever. Nothing. Not a single measure. I've written, erased, written, erased--usually I don't erase but with this there's just no alternative. Stuck stuck stuck. Grrr, etc.