Writer’s Cramp. No, Brain Cramp

After two and a half months of preparing a handful of eBook platforms and several weeks of proofing my paperback, all is said and done. Thank.Goodness.A hundred times over. I not only developed writer’s cramp, but author brain cramp. Mostly writers will understand this condition.

Symptoms include, but not limited to:

Headaches from staring at the same text and computer screen for hours while editing. Headache increased by the fact that while doing these tedious tasks, you realize you don’t have the money to hire someone to do it for you. Tears may also appear at times with this condition and a lot of self-talk. Just don’t answer yourself.

Decreased and increased self-esteem, interchanging at random times. You may find yourself often saying out loud, “this will be the next big failure!” then an hour later “this is going to be the best-selling novel ever that no one can possibly compete with!”

Intermittent bouts of escapism. Can you just hop into this book and be one of these characters, if not for just one day? Because in your book, there are no dirty dishes, laundry, complaining children, errands to run or even grooming to do, because hey, make-believe people got it going on! Mostly.

Guilt. This one might be big. It also tends to cause the first symptom mentioned. Why guilt? Well, in my case it’s the obsession with finishing the job, scouring places to promote the book, cell phone blowing up with followers and posts, and of course, the 24/7 thoughts that keep me from sometimes being the perfect wife and mother. Yes, I did say perfect. However, spending months in a writing stupor does have side effects on your family so the guilt comes along with it. At least in my case it did. At least they supported me, right? At least when we took a beach vacay last week, I only thought about my book a couple of times. Or maybe ten. Actually, scratch that and let’s discuss the weirdo who came up with the word vacay. What a dumb word. It sounds like something dental related. Ugh.

—–> Here’s a moment I wasn’t thinking about my book. I’m sure of it. I think.

There are many, many more things that will invade and cramp my brain, and sometimes, I can divide and conquer and other times, I am a slave to the computer. I foresee, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps I will receive that miraculous email or phone call that says, “we love it! And we’d love to make your life even crazier!” Only when that time comes, so does a nice, whopping advance, which makes up for all of the hassles.

Oh yeah, I’m unemployed at this time, not by choice, so at the very least, I can spend my spare time obsessing while job hunting. And finding a remedy for writer’s brain cramp.

Until next time….

Christy