Poor Al
June 9, 2000
7:38 a.m.
Poor Al Gore. An article I saw this morning says that the Big Al has lost all his e-mail for a period of a year from 1998-1999. Seems they changed the operating system on his machine, and somehow the backup tapes never ran from that point on. I'm sure Al will pen a book about that time, probably titled "A Year of Windows." (Hey, they're the ones that brought the operating system into this. Don't blame me.) I feel sorry for Al, though. Can you imagine? No way to go back over your entire life of e-mail. The guy is probably a wreck. I wish there were something I could do to ease his anxiety over this problem. I mean, how is he ever going to remember anything that happened during his discussions with China and during the whole Monica thing, now? And regardless of that, I mean, the guy has to just feel so naked knowing he can't spend an evening paging through his old mail. Heck, I would send him mine for that time period (just to tide him over, you know?) but I'm sure he's already got access to it if he wants it. That this is coming on the heels of his being accused of being a slum lord for not getting his rental property fixed up, has got to add up to a real double-whammy for Al. I bet the guy can't even get to sleep at night. I'm sure all the orders he wrote to get that poor woman's building fixed up were in that year's worth of e-mail somewhere. How will he ever find them, now? So, what are the American people to do to help Al get over his loss? I mean, this is the guy that invented the environment that has added 30% percent to the national growth since Clinton took office. Don't we owe him our sympathy, or something? Poor Al.   If you've followed me for awhile, you know that I don't believe in writer's block. I started on my next story today. It's the sequel to the sequel to the sequel in the "Stealing the Sun" collection. With luck it will grow a few more stories, then maybe I'll have something to really use. Otherwise, it's still a heck of a lot of fun. Actually, I could say I started on it yesterday, as that's when I began seriously thinking about it. I've known what the story would be for some time, now, but still committing to a story requires some clear thinking time. So words hit the screen today and, like any good groundbreaking ceremony, this is the act that makes it feel like I've really gotten going. I'm feeling pretty good about things right now. I'm getting back into a standard flow around my life, and better words are coming out of me--at least words that I can tell are going in a specific direction. Two months ago, I couldn't really say that. Two months ago, I was creating words at a pretty reasonable pace, but the stories I was creating weren't getting to the places I needed them to get. For example, I have pair of stories that are about half done. I love what's there, but I got into a bind with each of them, and haven't had the energy to forge through and make them something I wanted to release. In addition, I finished a story, and have just let it sit because it's not what I want it to be. Will I go back to it? We'll see. If not, that's okay. It's okay because the story has already served the most important role that any story can serve--it kept me writing through a period where things weren't coming "easy" (if they ever do). I don't believe in writer's block. It doesn't exist. Writer's block is a writer's excuse for not sitting down and putting words on the page. I do believe writers go through a lack of enthusiasm for their work. Heck, everyone does. And I do believe that a lot of writers don't know themselves well enough to settle themselves down and find a way to be productive through it all. I think that most cases of what others call writer's block is "just" a mixture of the two things, a lack of enthusiasm mixed with a sense of being lost in how to get it back. Maybe add in there a dose of feeling devoid of confidence. It all adds up to a case where writers choose not to produce. At these times I think it's wise to take a break, to go on vacation, to fill up your well. But I don't believe in writer's block. Never have--never will. You can always write, and if you take joy in the process of writing, a morning's work when its going poorly is (at some level) just as good as a morning's work when it's going great. Today I broke ground on my next story. The truth of today's work is that I would be surprised if any of the words I wrote remain in the final draft. But ain't it a great day, anyway, huh? Write because you love the act of writing. It's the only advice I can give that you should blindly follow.  I liked you better when you were struggling Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
|
What a great day ... sorry if that makes you mad :) |
BACK TO 
|