Frustration strikes again
It is after 1:00 a.m. and I am still up at my computer.
Why you may ask? It is not some pleasant accident or a habitual night owl routine. No, it is a horrific combination of writer’s block and limited content resources.
You see, I had a city council meeting earlier today. Which means I have an article due by 8:30 tomorrow morning. And while there were a number of things discussed at tonight’s meeting, none of them are really lede story material. That would be more than enough to tackle under normal circumstances, but I also stupidly forgot to recharge the batteries in my digital recorder.
And I’ve been sitting here, staring at my computer for the last four hours or so, just wanting to get started and I can’t seem to bring myself to do it. Writer’s block is keeping me from marring that almost perfectly blank Word document that I have before me (accented only by my last name and the slug “MCC 7-7-08″). For all of you who are thinking that writer’s block shouldn’t affect journalists as they are not making up what they are writing, I can tell you that words can escape ANY writer, including those who just report the facts. And it’s equally excruciating for them.
I really need to buckle down and make myself write–as time drags on, my memories of the meeting are growing ever fuzzier (sleepiness may be a factor) and I have no digital recording to refresh things. Sigh.