Demons
I spend a lot of time thinking about demons. First, I have been writing about them, in Freudian Slip. My new work in progress toys with Death . . . so demons and angels cross my mind. But most of all, I spend a lot of time thinking about demons because of Demon Baby.
If you have ever, for a moment, wondered what I am up against, you must go here today. The pictures are worth a thousand words on this blog. But I think in a way, I am lucky. You see, I know what I am up against.
My demon is external. Demon Baby, more than anything, is an external force of mayhem that bears down on my Time (capital T because it is the Battle of Time) and my energy. From 7:00 a.m. until well past 8:00 at night, he moves at the speed of light, causing exhaustion in all those around him. He also brings me incredible joy and the tradeoff is well worth it. But my page count daily suffers immeasurably. But at least I know that's my battle.
Some writers have incredible internal demons. Let's not talk about this guy. Or they battle insecurity or procrastination. Doubt and angst. They battle the bottle or they battle those voices that say they'll never make it. They battle cynicism and they battle a loss of hope. They battle whatever their personal inner demon is. I have twin demons of Procastination and Disorganization. They are a mighty pair. The blessed thing is when you figure it out. Only when you can NAME your demon can you fight it.
My demon--my main one--is asleep right now. He is stark naked (of course--everyone around here knows he is on Naked Strike, week 15--it extends to sleep time). He is sleeping angelically, but soon he will rise and the Battle for Time will be waged. He is a formidable opponent, but at least I know who he is. Heck, I gave birth to him.
But what's YOUR demon?
If you have ever, for a moment, wondered what I am up against, you must go here today. The pictures are worth a thousand words on this blog. But I think in a way, I am lucky. You see, I know what I am up against.
My demon is external. Demon Baby, more than anything, is an external force of mayhem that bears down on my Time (capital T because it is the Battle of Time) and my energy. From 7:00 a.m. until well past 8:00 at night, he moves at the speed of light, causing exhaustion in all those around him. He also brings me incredible joy and the tradeoff is well worth it. But my page count daily suffers immeasurably. But at least I know that's my battle.
Some writers have incredible internal demons. Let's not talk about this guy. Or they battle insecurity or procrastination. Doubt and angst. They battle the bottle or they battle those voices that say they'll never make it. They battle cynicism and they battle a loss of hope. They battle whatever their personal inner demon is. I have twin demons of Procastination and Disorganization. They are a mighty pair. The blessed thing is when you figure it out. Only when you can NAME your demon can you fight it.
My demon--my main one--is asleep right now. He is stark naked (of course--everyone around here knows he is on Naked Strike, week 15--it extends to sleep time). He is sleeping angelically, but soon he will rise and the Battle for Time will be waged. He is a formidable opponent, but at least I know who he is. Heck, I gave birth to him.
But what's YOUR demon?
Labels: Demon Baby
posted by Erica Orloff at 7:55 AM
21 Comments:
As if you don't know...
The "fiction is hopeless, give it up and just write nonfiction for money" demon, of course. The pragmatist versus the dreamer.
There are others, but that one's a big one.
Mark:
Slay the dragon.
:-)
E
I battle the "I should be..." demon. I should be doing the laundry, I should be pitching articles that will sell, I should be cleaning a toilet, I should be exercising...it all swirls around in my head. When I quiet it down, which requires writing (my own catch 22) then I realize, always, that my demon is a farce. Because I should be writing.
My demon is time and my tendency to fritter it away.
Doesn't "fritter" sound much better than "spending too much time on the Internet"? Something I need to stop doing.
The you suck demon, the distraction demon, and the procrastination demon. My triumvirate of terror.
And FYI: you've been nominated.
http://heatherharper.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-heart-your-blog.html
OOH!! I love love LOVE naked strikes.
And my demon and your demon should get together and go bowling.
Amy:
LOVE that. Totally love it. Totally relate.
E
edie:
LOL!
I like "fritter," too. It's sort of like mine--puttering. But at least when I putter, I actually get something done, like cleaning out a junk drawer. LOL!
E
Heather:
COOL! I will check out my nomination.
And that triumverate is lethal.
E
realmcovet:
I never trust two demons together. The mayhem increases exponentially into infinity! :-)
E
Erica, we share two demons, procrastination and disorganization. Seriously, when I read yours I about fell off the sofa. I'm easily distracted some days, and I need to work on my focus again.
I got caught up in the financial crisis whirlwind, and grounding again has been a challenge. Bad, government!
And DB is too darn cute! He could pour my OJ out too.
ladonna:
The financial crisis is terrifying!
E
I have legions.
Choking my focus right now is Shiny New Idea Syndrome and the thought of possibly particpating in NaNoWriMo for the first time. Tomorrow it might be something else.
Jude:
True enough. Demons can shape-shift.
E
My demon, right now, is working too much. For about four weeks, I was sleeping about 10 - 15 hours Sunday - Thursday. I was taking NAPS at night! Partly my fault, because I'd start reading about the election or the financial mess, and I wouldn't be able to stop myself.
There is so much I want to do, I wish I never had to sleep. But I've been putting my foot down, and carving out internet time, writing time, reading time, and particularly time to take walks.
My demon is the internet and procrastination. Once I start, I'm very productive. It's the starting that is hard for me - there's always one more thing I need to do before conditions are perfect.
I have the What You Need to Do demons, which really is Ye of Little Faith demons. I also have the You Suck demons, You Wrote That In Your Last Book demons, Concentrate On Something That Will Actually Make Money Demons, You Don't Write Fast Enough, Clean Enough demons, Your Grammar And Punctuation Sucks So Why Go On demons, I'm Fat demons--not sure how that's related, but it's still one of my demons that makes the top list.
I can name more, but I think I've named the major ones.
Oh, forgot one--You Use That In Every Sentence demon.
spy:
I have that one!
E
melanie:
I definitely used to have that one (about starting) but with four kids, I had to let it go. Things are never perfect . . . so I write anyway.
E
Melissa:
My Demon Baby is a first-class dragon-slayer. I'll send him over.
E
holy crap! Naked Strike week 15.
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