Thursday, February 28, 2008

Bloggers' block therapies – pros and cons!!

I’ve been quite inactive on the blogging front recently.Work has been hectic ,family commitments ,conferences….none of the above actually…just plain lazy.It’s what they call the bloggers' block.I just have to put finger to keyboard …..and lo and behold …my brain suffers a power failure and turns blank.(The ‘blankness’ I must admit does tend to pervade the insides of my brain a big part of my waking hours even otherwise!! ). Of course it isn’t like an earthquake striking the literary world…a little landslide mebbe :) …I mean .I’m sure my ‘nobel’ prize (or prizes) can wait a few more years…..or decades.Thing is ,I still haven’t really decided whether I want my ‘nobel’ in medicine , peace,economics or literature.Being a dermatologist,Medicine is a distinct possibility if they include acne and baldness as the major public health problems of the 21st century.Peace is also a definite possibility considering that I’ve managed to remain married for more than 2 years .Economics ..well micro finance is after all the ‘in thing’ and as far as ‘micro’ goes ,no better adjective to describe my bank balance!!).Anyway ,considering the possibility that my blogger’s block would lead me to literary depression, I started researching the net for easy- fixes …..
The number of sites offering advice on the above subject is astounding to say the least.I’m sure that in due course ,bloggers’ block will rank right up there with impotence and love -conundrums as far as advice columns are concerned.Some of the gems I milked from the internet cow..
1)NOTE DOWN YOUR IDEAS AS SOON AS YOU GET THEM –
Sure ,jotting ideas for your valuable blog and going to the potty when you feel the need…two things that just shouldn’t be delayed…
2)TRY CHANGING THE GENRE OF YOUR BLOGS –
Yessir!In my case it would be changing one kind of shitty writing to another kind of shitty writing …I’m sure they wont smell much different!

3)TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR BLOGS
Great!I thought the whole idea was to find how I could end the rather long break.C’mon advise-giver..go take a break!!
4)TRY WRITING AT DAWN INSTEAD OF LATE NIGHT
Ah Dawn…one time of the day I haven’t met face to face in a loooong time.My ‘dawn’ is basically a extreme case of efficient multitasking and time management.Getting up somewhere between 7:30 and 7:40 and leaving for the hospital somewhere between 8:00 and 8:10…..personal hygiene sessions (Ok in plainspeak…brush ,shave ,potty,bath,dressing… in varying orders depending on my mood ) and breakfast,all crammed into a lovely 30 minute blitzkrieg.And you expect me to type in a few words in between?!!I have heard crazy people waking up early in the morning to go jogging…but blogging??!!Gimme a break guys!Besides ,I really don’t understand those nutcases who wake up at ungodly hours and do ungodly things like jogging or walking…I mean it’s not as if the sun will feel bad if it doesn’t see your loony head first thing it pops up!God gave us the cover of darkness for rest (and for underhand activities)..so lets stick to the scheme of things OK?



5)CLEAN UP YOUR WRITING SPACE,IMPROVE THE WRITING ENVIRONMENT AVOID CLUTTER ON YOUR DESK
HEE HEE HEE…pass,next please.


6)LOWER YOUR STANDARDS

Now that IS one of the best pieces of advice I found…but I suppose I’ve been steadily following this beautiful bit of philosophy subconsciously over the last few months already!and anyways, there’s a limit to what even I Can stoop!


7)START WITH A SHITTY FIRST DRAFT..EDIT IT LATER –
Well,I’m a man of great principles.I stick to my stand…shitty drafts will remain shitty…no de-shitting stuff.

8)START WITH A CATCHY HEADLINE AND CARRY ON FROM THERE –
Not bad…in a short while I’ll have a whole bunch of headlines and blissful vacuums following them.Maybe I’ll write a blog displaying the imaginative headlines I cooked up!

9)GET HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS –
Yeah sure…soon they’ll be starting ‘bloggers anonymous’ and other support groups for depressed souls suffering from extremes of bloggers’ block.Most of my friends being doctors,the only blocks they’ve dealt with are pertaining to various tubes and arteries in the body…not much to write home about!

10)READ GREAT LITERARY WORKS FOR INSPIRATION –
Nossir….what if I ‘subconsciously internalise’ what some of these great dudes have coughed up…a la Miss Kavya of the ‘Opal Mehta’ fame.

11)…Hey wait a minute….I FINISHED A BLOG!!!!...so lets respect my right to laziness and discuss the issue later!



(At least I stuck persistently to the ‘lowering standards’ bit!!!)


(Jokes apart,there are quite a few interesting sites on the web for people into serious writing ,a big chunk of the sincere advice listed above is from a beautiful piece written by Chanpory Rith …sorry for the sarcasm mate,but I suppose all’s fair in blog ,love and war..especially blogs like mine that suck!!!)