[Process]
[process] Post-novel ennui, contest anent same
By rights, I should come down with a raging case of post-novel ennui in the next few days. Election Day will certainly keep me distracted today. There’s always things popping in my personal life, of course. But I’ll be curious to see if this more controlled drafting process in Tourbillon will affect the course of post-novel ennui.
In a related note, I hereby announce a contest! Leave a comment here about the way I should best combat post-novel ennui. Feel free to be highly creative.
As usual, after a few days I’ll post a voting poll. Winner as determined by a jury of their peers shall receive an inscribed ARC of Green, as soon as I have them to ship out. Usual rules and arbitrary errors by the moderator apply.
Posted: 6:58 am Tue November 04 2008 |
Where am I?
You are reading the blog of Jay Lake, speculative fiction writer and author of hundreds of short stories, many novels, and winner of the John W. Campbell Award.
Learn more here.
Comments
Leave a Reply
« [politics] Vote | [politics] The United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion »
Jaws
November 4th, 2008 at 8:53 am* Go clothes shopping. Really. Having lost that much weight, you need a new suit or three, and even your Hawaiian-print shirts will look needlessly baggy.
* Heckle exit pollsters. Ask if they understand the concept of a “secret ballot,” and demand that they produce their KGB/GRU identity cards if they insist on remaining.
* Watch the election returns, and drink a beer each time your selected anchor says “swing state” or “too close to call”.
Jay
November 4th, 2008 at 8:55 am@1 — Well, I *did* buy a new tux recently…
tetar
November 4th, 2008 at 9:12 amA) stop being a slave to your hormones
B) stop being so self-indulgent with moods
C) write short fiction
D) start another novel or three
Mark
November 4th, 2008 at 9:32 amI remember doing a roadtrip once when I was visiting my Grandparents in Salem, I think I was 8 or 9 so…. We started early in the morning and in some town we had ginormous cinnamon twisty bun things. We drove along a lovely river for a bit and when came to the sea there was a port and we had fantastic lunch overlooking a small port. I had a tuna sandwich and it had a local cheddar melted over it, Tillamook?, I remember it to this day, relevatory just the fish, cheese, bun. Then drove the coast to watch seals on a huge rock, Seal Rock? I called it a boom crash opera. There was a stop at Foulweather point as well. Anyway, I might be conflating two trips, who knows but, my point is – Get out and enjoy Oregon a bit. One thing – on that trip I ate a whole large bowl of cherries and was sick for a day. Stay away from ridiculous amounts of cherries.
Jeri Merrell
November 4th, 2008 at 10:59 amBungee jumping. (I think my brainstormer is broken.)
Mike Brotherton
November 4th, 2008 at 6:16 pmGo have some clown sex — you know what I mean — while A Clockwork Orange plays on a TV in the background, and then enjoy post-coitus ice cream sandwiches while using greasepaint to cover the bruises. Hire Ouchy the Clown if you don’t have a suitable indulgent partner. (Don’t google search Ouchy unless you’re brave.)
Brad R. Torgersen
November 5th, 2008 at 3:28 amThat’s easy: start your outline for the next novel!
[links] Link Salad for Guy Fawkes Day | jlake.com
November 5th, 2008 at 6:37 am[...] [process] Post-novel ennui, contest anent same »11-04-2008 [...]
Thursday Starlinks | Mike Brotherton: SF Writer
November 5th, 2008 at 11:42 pm[...] Tell Jay Lake how to battle post-novel ennui, and perhaps win a personalized advance reader’s copy of the forthcoming GREEN. [...]
Fred Kiesche
November 6th, 2008 at 5:34 am(1) Make a good meal…from scratch…with the freshest ingredients you can find.
(2) Roast your own green coffee beans.
(3) Watch all the old episodes of the “rebooted” Battlestar Galactica and wonder how the frak they will pull their heads out of their posteriors and finish the show.
(4) Collect some old watches from yard sales (or tag sales, or garage sales, or whatever your regional name is) and use them to plot the next novel.
(5) Read (or re-read) the works of Cordwainer Smith, Clifford D. Simak and the Callahan tales of Spider Robinson. Works for me when I get into a slump.
[contests] Reminder, post-novel ennui contest | jlake.com
November 6th, 2008 at 6:25 am[...] Comments Fred Kiesche on [process] Post-novel ennui, contest anent same at 6:58 am, November 6, [...]
Sean P. Fodera
November 6th, 2008 at 8:15 amTake The Child for a walk in nature. Stroll through the changing foliage. Check out scenic vistas. Talk about anything that comes to mind. Be as silly as possible.
Then go for an ice cream dinner.
Ennui? No way.
Andrea
November 6th, 2008 at 10:00 amGive yourself small gifts:
Take a morning walk in a farmer’s market with The Child, then make lunch out of whatever fresh things looked tempting in the market – even if that’s just a chunk of fresh bread, some fancy cheese, and a bunch of fresh berries.
Explore somewhere in town you’ve always wanted to go, but never have (that little hole-in-the wall bookshop? A hidden bridge? A new coffee shop?)
Have a friend brush out your hair and banter for hours
Drink some wine / beer / cranberry juice / your drink of choice
Watch a stupid-but-amusing movie.
In any order, and spread over as many days as you’d like, of course.
Spencer Ellsworth
November 6th, 2008 at 10:03 amDrink enough coffee to revive a dead man and stay up all night giggling nervously.
Seriously, amp up your exercise routine. Get more adrenaline going to keep you excited.
Jeri Merrell
November 8th, 2008 at 11:22 amMaybe too late… but have a bonfire/belated OktoberNovemberfest with friends. Burn your last draft. If it’s electronic, print a symbolic one out for the purpose. Roast (chicken, nitrite-free) hot dogs and marshmallows. Drink cider. Tell ghost stories. Consider it a rite of passage.
Jeri Merrell
November 8th, 2008 at 11:24 amAlso, consider learning something new/creative with your hands. Cross-pollinating the creative wiring helps jump start the brain. Try taking a glass blowing class, or learn to silversmith, or bookbind.
I probably missed your poll – but wanted to get these out there anyway.
[contests] The Post-Novel Ennui Contest Poll | jlake.com
November 14th, 2008 at 6:00 pm[...] voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ] is now open here. Vote early, vote often, influence your [...]
[links] Link salad listens to Pearl Jam | jlake.com
November 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am[...] forget the voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here. Vote early, vote often, influence your [...]
[links] Link salad for a quiet Sunday | jlake.com
November 16th, 2008 at 9:43 am[...] forget the voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here. Vote early, vote often, influence your [...]
[links] Link salad for a travel day | jlake.com
November 17th, 2008 at 6:20 am[...] forget the voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here. Vote early, vote often, influence your [...]
[links] Link salad does the Watusi, watches I Love Lucy | jlake.com
November 18th, 2008 at 5:08 am[...] forget the voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here. Vote early, vote often, influence your [...]
[links] Link salad will never be forgiven for whatever it’s done with the keys | jlake.com
November 20th, 2008 at 5:29 am[...] is the last day for the voting poll for the Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here. I’ll close it tonight or tomorrow and announce the lucky [...]
[contests] Belated announcement of the Post-Novel Ennui Contest winner | jlake.com
November 26th, 2008 at 6:49 am[...] voting poll for Post-Novel Ennui Contest [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ], here, has been closed since last week, but management inefficiencies here on this [...]