Last winter's record snow. Did this cool you off?
The dictionary says that doldrums is a spell of listlessness or despondency, or a state of inactivity, stagnation or slump. There's also a location in the ocean near the equator abounding in calms that is referred to as "the doldrums."
It you're suffering from any of these definitions, then there are things you can do to overcome them. They tell me folks like to read lists, so I'll make one here.
- Take some time away from whatever you're doing to do something completely wild.
- Call a writer friend and engage them in a short conversation about what they're doing.
- Draft a short story about something totally out of the realm of your usual writing.
- If you're a prose writer, write a poem, the sillier the better.
- Find a movie or tv show on Hulu that you've always wanted to watch, kick back and enjoy it on your computer.
- Take off all your clothes and run through the yard singing. No, wait, that's only if you live in the boonies. Otherwise your friends might have to visit you in jail. No more doldrums.
- Edit the first chapter of a published book that could be a lot better.
- Post a blog like this one.
- Eat chocolate, drink champagne. This should go without saying.
Then, to finish it up, ask all the readers to send one suggestion to help everyone drag themselves out of their summer doldrums and get back to creative writing.
Okay, everyone. What do you do to get rid of the doldrums during these long, hot summer days?
8 comments:
Eat chocolate, drink beverage--sounds like a plan!
Eat chocolate, drink beverage--sounds like a plan!
Read a genre I'm not used to, write a poem in an unfamiliar style, write a short story about something I know nothing about. :D
Well, we're certainly NOT having a hot summer here in the Pacific Northwest. But going out into nature, especially spending some time by water, usually helps me a lot. Chocolate, too!
I retreat to my studio and play with the mass amount of papers and inks... redirecting my creative energy to something else for awhile.
Like a Vengeful Lover
The sun barely crawls across a naked sky
Trees stand painfully motionless
Even the wind is too tired to blow
The once rain-soaked ground gives up her precious moisture
Vaporous waves lay trembling
Baking us in a giant oven
All creatures, large and small, beg for relief
Their rhythmic panting helps pass the time
Waiting for the mercy of the night
“Oh Mother Night, please come quickly,
Wrap your black-velvet arms around me
Hold me till the coming of the dawn"
The friendly coolness fades ever so quickly
Heat returns like a vengeful lover
With jealous anger to burn us up
For shade and shelter we all go scrambling
Like drops of sweat
Racing down an ice cold glass
Shorten tempers become flared to fighting
The smallest thing just sets us off
While Heat rears its head and laughs
Some terrific ideas here, but it looks like chocolate won out. Thanks for all the comments. We're still running 100 degrees most days. That's hot, even for NW Arkansas.
...and with all that humidity, it should be downright illegal to be that hot.
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