{"id":20,"date":"2011-02-13T18:10:02","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T18:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/?p=20"},"modified":"2024-04-02T01:41:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T01:41:41","slug":"writing-and-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/13\/writing-and-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing and addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I've been thinking a lot about writing and addiction lately. So much has been written on the subject, I should probably read some of it. But I'll probably watch TV instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quit Facebook because I was spending too much time there. I know to most of you it sounds like the most pathetic addition, but I've given up almost everything else. All that remains is coffee, TV, cheese, and the computer. Not necessarily in that order.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo by Lucas Gattuso, my hubby, taken in Wisconsin. Of course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Reflecting on 2010 as one does at the beginning of a new year, I realized how I hadn't written anything except maybe two scenes in a play I'd been diddling with for two years. And to write those two scenes, I'd had to retreat to Northern Wisconsin for several days specifically\u00a0to write. My retreats are usually where I start or finish something. This time, I sat. No substantial writing. Then I thought again. Oh no, Murphy, you've written way more than two scenes. Think of all the status updates and witty comments to other people's status updates. Think of the time and energy spent on pithy little nothings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Since 2002, I'd finished a full-length play every other year. 2002: Greater America; 2004: To Hades and Back (Again); 2006: Drug of Choice; 2008: Word of the Day. And 2010 passed without finishing Box Store Cowboys. This has really been eating at me. I have no desire to work on it. And no ideas for something new. Is this because I'm numbing my brain with the Book of Face? Or have I been numbing my brain because I'm done writing plays and don't want to admit that to myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent two and a half weeks with no Facebook account. Yesterday I logged back on. I had a reason, but I've already forgotten what it was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I've been thinking a lot about writing and addiction lately. So much has been written on the subject, I should probably read some of it. But I'll probably watch TV instead. I quit Facebook because I was spending too much time there. I know to most of you it sounds like the most pathetic addition, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseacreswest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}