Struggling to Find Literary Comfort? You're not Alone
by Kimberley Allen McNamara
At a recent luncheon with some fellow writers, several lamented that they were struggling to read and write. When an athlete can’t make the putt, lay-up, hit the strike zone, or beat their PR (personal record), they call their lack of connection ‘a slump or a funk’. When writers can’t write, we call it writer’s block. But when a reader can’t read, especially for a writer, this is akin to a serious drought.
Often the solution to slumps or funks whether they be athletic or writer’s block or reading dry spells is to give yourself permission to fail miserably at the attempt to make that putt, write that article or read that book. In short, to plow through by going through the motions. Step by miserable step.
But sometimes trudging through is not the solution, sometimes taking a break is. If your golf putts are falling short or over shooting the hole, STOP. Put the club back in the bag, and go fishing.
If that article or novel is not happening, close that laptop or put down that pen and go for a walk or jog. There truly exists a connection between writers and walking and writers and running. “A study from Stanford University showed that, when people tackled mental tasks that required imagination, walking led to more creative thinking than sitting did.” (Psychology Today)
Author Joyce Carol Oates, who runs almost daily, has stated: ““In running, the mind flies with the body; the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms. Ideally, the runner who’s a writer is running through the land- and cityscapes of her fiction, like a ghost in a real setting.” (Outsideonline.com)
For reading? What do? One of my fellow writers sent me a link to writer Molly Templeton’s article. Templeton tackled this very same question in her article: The Only Way Out is Through: On Reading Slumps.
As per Templeton: “You also have to let this kind of slump run its course, or you may find yourself picking up books, reading five pages, and leaving them face-down in increasingly precarious positions around your house, never finishing anything, just building small traps for yourself to stumble over.” Templeton continues that with our e-readers we have the opportunity to download samples ad nauseam thus creating the same trap, making us feel crowded and also failing at something that once gave us joy.
What to do? Well, as with other frustrating slumps, the key to solving a reading slump is to shake things up a bit. The following list has been culled from my own experiences or readings.
Try a genre you haven’t or don’t always read. If you love fiction try non-fiction.
Romance and Mystery Genres have experienced an uptick in sales in the past year largely because there is comfort in their predictability. Romance goes one step further in that it allows for happiness. The reason for its increase in popularity: “because people needed escapism and the guarantee of a happy ending, a story where, no matter the obstacles, they could be safe in the knowledge that everything was going to work out in the end,"(Fortune).
Try a new show: a who-done-it, or who-done-it comedy.
Personally my current favorite is Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building which centers on a friendship formed between three characters played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The three bond over a true crime podcast and then launch their own true crime podcast while investigating a murder in their very own building. The series is doled out every Tuesday. Play it with the closed caption on, as the writing is quite good and lines truly witty.
Try having an audio version of a beloved book or an audio version of one of those books you wanted to read.
I highly recommend: World of Wonders: In praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatahil read by the author. Nezhukumatahil is a poet and a professor. The rhythm and cadence of her essays will not disappoint.
Try a podcast: Embark the Podcast is a favorite.
Immerse yourself in something familiar and comforting (a favorite old book or tv show). It turns out that like those old familiar Friends episodes you play when you need a laugh, your old book favorites will help you rediscover that love of reading.
The key is to be patient with yourself, and the reading and the writing should return. Go for that walk, reread that favorite, watch that new show, listen to the podcast, try something new.
P.S.
I would be remiss if I did not state:
Sometimes slumps are only slumps. But sometimes finding the lack of joy may be more and require more. Please consider reading:
New York Times article, by Adam Grant, There’s a Name for that Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing, Grant actually put a name to the dissatisfaction you may be feeling with solid steps and connecting articles on how to stop feeling ‘meh.
