Thank you for all the kind thoughts, virtual martinis and advice

Lots of wise things have been said, about the creative wall I ran into
yesterday, and I will try to take a deep breath and read them all again.

Monday was tough to wake up to - and turned into the sort of day where
it takes every ounce of energy and concentration just to switch the
kettle on. Luckily I am old enough and mean enough to know that that
state of total "blueeech" wears off pretty quickly these days.

But talk about getting straight back on the horse - I got through the
day, trying *not* to let thoughts of the plot problem run through my
head on a continnual loop (like the music in an Indian Restuarant circa
1979) - and then got an email, at 4.00pm, reminding me I needed to write
an updated 150 word synopsis of the project for a sales brochure,, by
Wednesday.

This turns out to be quite useful, because it throws lots of the
problems I am experiencing into relief; writing in semi-public, for a
highly critical audience (that is, people who will need to invest their
own time and money and careers in the product), in a limited format,
where every word counts and there is no room to fudge or hand wave.

It can be very stimulating - I use to enjoy copywriting and
speechwriting a great deal, writing 5000 words (with pictures, and in
someone else's voice) then distilling the piece, over the course of a
week, into 1000 words of killer prose.

In fact, I took the job (I was a secretary, pulled from the pool to
write, just like Peggy Olsen) just to prove to myself that I could write
on demand and to deadline.

But on returning to my own projects, 18 months ago, I seem to have
contracted a sort of permanent stage fright.

Still I wrote the 150 words. It was a bit like pulling teeth, but I
administered an anasthetic (red wine rather than gin this time).

But this morning I practised a bit of free writing - three pages on why
camels make poor subjects for heroic statues...