Writer's Block

Can you read the label on the wine bottle?

It says Writer’s Block. You’re supposed to drink it to get un-blocked.

My mom saw it and thought it was funny so she bought it for me.

Thankfully I don’t really suffer from writer’s block. But sometimes I do suffer from writer overwhelming-ness. Like this book project I’m working on right now. It’s a book about the history of a law school. I’ve been working on the project for years. Every time I think I have a solid draft, I feel compelled to go through it one more time, and I end up correcting or revising or adding or subtracting so much stuff that I then feel compelled to go through it again and . . . you get the picture.

This was supposed to a joint project. It started off okay. We conducted interviews together. But after that, my partner got promoted at his job, was extremely busy, and didn’t research or write anything.

“I hate writing,” he told me last time I saw him.

“We’re co-authoring a book together and you hate writing?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “Isn’t that funny?”

A riot.

Admittedly, there is a part of me that’s happy to take on the writing part wholly as my own. (My co-author will still help me edit – at least he better. That is, if I ever send him the draft.)

This summer at The Ark is officially my last leg of the journey (well, it’s at least the last leg of the journey through the solid draft). After this, I’m sending the book into different hands no matter what. I have an entire accountability team in place to help me finish the project. They are helping me stay focused and stick to my goals. And as a blog reader, feel free to check in on me too. Maybe I’ll even post a section or two of the book for your input.