End of " The Midnight Disease"

Good afternoon, everyone. How are y'all? This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I just finished the rest of "The Midnight Disease" by Alice W. Flaherty. Interestingly enough, I really enjoyed the last chapter which is titled "Metaphor, the Inner Voice, and the Muse." Here, Ms. Flaherty endorses the idea that writing is 99% drive and 1% inspiration. But where does this "inspiration" come from? She introduces a few theories in this last chapter. :)

Metaphor in this chapter is tied to the idea of meaning. Meaning, Ms. Flaherty writes, has 2 components to it: one is linked to the temporal lobe or semantics and the second is tied to the frontal lobes or emotions. This will help us understand her idea of inspiration. Last year in college, I read some of Plato's works and it was interesting to learn his views on poetry. He detested many poets because in his view, they didn't represent 'reality' through the use of metaphors. He thought that metaphors were misleading, but on the other hand his pupil Aristotle loved metaphors. *Gasp* I've always had difficulty writing poetry because I want to come up with distinct comparisons, metaphors or other trophes which I relate to. Of course, the metaphors that I come up with may not relate to someone else. It's just hard to put words onto paper, especially something as refined as poetry. O.O

Ms. Flaherty shares the poem "For Anne Gregory" by Butler Yeats. Read this:
"Never shall a young man
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-colored
Ramparts at your ear
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair"

So in the poem, the limbic (emotional) and sensory (semantic) overtones are "complicated, not simplified" in Ms. Flaherty's view. She says that we're more familiar with blondes than towers; a fun fact is that Yeats lived in a tower so the metaphor meant more to him than us. The poem ties together "a vivid exaggeration of her sexual impregnability and of the massy thickness of her hair." I'm not sure if I agree that it complicates the overtones because most of us know what a tower is; most of us would read the word "tower" and could picture it, right? I think so. So, a little over-analyzed on Ms. Flaherty's part (I believe).

Okay, we must talk about the "muse," the "force" or "being" that gives writers inspiration to write. But before I talk about that, can you name all 9 Greek Muses? Come on, you know you want to. Here they are. :D Calliope the epic Muse, Clio the Muse of history, Erato the Muse of love poetry, Euterpe the Muse of lyric poetry, Melpomene the Muse of tragedy, Polyhymnia the Muse of sacred poetry, Terpsichore the Muse of choral song and dance, Thalia the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry, and Urania the Muse of astronomy. Wow, that was a mouthful! >__< I didn't know most of their names, so that was cool to learn them. Thanks, Ms. Flaherty. :) Anyway, Ms. FLaherty asks the question: why would artists attribute their best ideas to something outside themselves? Well, some would say that it's a pride issue. Some would say that they feel special that the "muse" visited them, so they MUST have it going on. Another is that writers are humbled and feel the need to be helped by something or someone other than themselves like God. As many know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has given me gifts for a purpose: to glorify Him and His Kingdom. I don't believe that the muse is some outside force that visits on a whim. I believe that if I ask God to help me with my writing with an open and a humble heart, He will help if it's in His will. :)

I thought this description of Frued was funny in chapter 7. Freud thought that being alienated from or subconscious (subconscious is tied to the idea of the muse) makes us "neurotic" but being too involved with the subconscious makes us "psychotic." It's like, we need the muse or the inner voice sometimes. Haha. :) I think it definitely helps to have the creative juices flowing. Just don't have voices speaking to you all the time or you'll go loopy. ;)

I had a fun time reading and blogging about this book. I learned so much about the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, the temporal lobes, frontal lobes...okay you get the picture. The book dealt a lot about the structure and function of the brain with creative writing. I look forward to reading books dealing with overcoming Writer's Block. The next book I'm reading is "Writers Block and How to Use It" by Victoria Nelson. I will blog about it in the coming days so STAY TUNED. Alright? Have a great rest of the day and I will chat with you later.

~LaVel :-)

"Dragon Earth" Excerpt & The Midnight Disease

Hello, hello everyone! How are y'all? :-) This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I am doing absolutely great this morning. Oh, it's 1 o'clock am. Wow. I really should go to sleep, but guess what? It's Saturday morning. Wohoo! And I have been doing a lot this week, so much that I haven't been able to blog. But now I'm back. :) I wanted to give y'all a nice update so listen up. Plus, I have a little something something for y'all at the end.

I have been hard at work these past few weeks. I've written 2 chapters for "Dragon Earth" and I'm in the middle of chapter seven titled "Séraphine Soleil." This is a chapter that I'm having SO much fun writing. The character Séraphine is such a tease, such a kitty-cat character so to speak. She's so gritty, so silly, and so sensible at the same time. :) Confusing, no? I have an excerpt from chapter seven at the bottom of the blog that y'all DON'T WANT TO MISS. :0)

Guess what the picture above shows? Well, forget the one showing me. The other shows a picture of a lynx, a mythological creature guarding the forest. There's a lynx in chapter seven. I can't wait to really develop the lynx character. His name is Leflorhys by the way. Say hi to him. Hehe. ;) In chapter six, my characters were attacked by the Coven, a band of witches and wizards flooding the city of Cambridge. Don't fret! The Xenphiri are here! :0) I will explain who the Xenphiri are in later blog posts.

Now, I wanted to post a few points on chapter six of "The Midnight Disease" by Alice Flaherty. I said before that I would skirt through this chapter because it's very science-y and it's interesting, but not integral to my research. Chapter six is titled "Why We Write" and Ms. Flaherty asks the question what part of our brain drives us to write. The limbic system gives writers motivation to write. It lies under another system called the cerebral cortex. The limbic system controls fear, food, fighting, sexual desire, and more complex things such as social bonding, learning, and memory. Ooh, let's get a little deeper, shall we? The hypothalamus is part of the limbic system. It deals with our sleep cycles, and as we should know, sleep is related to depression and anxiety. If you get necessary rest, you will have a lower chance of being depressed than someone who doesn't get the right amount of sleep. The hypothalamus also deals with appetite, blood sugar level, and temperature regulation. Wohoo. So all in all, maintain your body so you lower your chance of depression and anxiety, which affects motivation to write. o___o

Ms. Flaherty asks us what is the motivation to write? Is it a "core emotion?" She replies that it's a secondary emotion. Core emotions are like joy and fear, she says, and it isn't a biological desire to procreate and have children. Her answer is that the motivation to write is similar to guilt, hope, and smugness. The motivation to write is linked to the desire to communicate. Her evidence for this relies on 3 areas. First is that humans have a distinct area in the brain that controls speech. Second is that everyone speaks and that cultures cannot get along without an elaborate language. Third is that we learn to speak at an early age. This was a cute quote from neurologist Frank Wilson: "[a young child] behaves as if she has been given a teristic fizz, that the young child behaves as if she has been given a labeling gun whose relentless operation compels her to take possession of the world by putting labels on everything she possibly can." Aaw! :) We try to make sense of things, Ms. Flaherty says and the desire to communicate is how we channel this "sense-making." Psychologist Dylan Evans says that writing can serve in 3 ways. One, it can alter mood by consoling, by entertaining, and by venting.

Writing consoles us by using language that can encourage us, so that's understandable. I think writing out Bible verses applies to this perfectly. I'm getting into this practice. :0) Second is that writing can be a source of entertainment, a source of pleasure. Third is that we can vent through writing, something that can be negative, but something that can be positive. This brushes a little bit against consolation. I don't know if you feel angry right now and you want to blog about it and vent, vent, VENT! But Ms. Flaherty says that venting can help someone overcome trials someone is dealing with.

One thing that I want to post before I go is the idea of the "desire to be published" or graphomania. Evolutionary psychologists see the desire for fame as part of the already established dominance hierarchy. Orwell says writing for fame as "sheer egoism." What do y'all think about writing for fame? I won't post anything about that...maybe later. ;) The novelist Milan Kundera saw graphomania as something destructive to society because "the resulting flood of words drowns out the chance for anyone to be heard." Now, I would love for all writers to share their work. I think that's great. But let's be honest...writing is a BUSINESS, an INDUSTRY. Publishers (particularly the large publishers) choose manuscripts and authors that they think will bolster their profits. I don't necessarily get him just because there is and always will be a limit to how many "famous authors" live in the world. Other than this, I would love to have your thoughts on writing for fame. Is that "okay?" Is that enough for a writer? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

:) I am posting the excerpt from the chapter "Séraphine Soleil" below. I hope you like it. Enjoy and God Bless! :0)

Chapter 7: Séraphine Soleil (Excerpt)
The tinkling of a bell announced that Alexis had stepped into the restaurant. Looking back at the door, Alexis saw a sign with black letters etched on the door. “Be happy, be healthy, be French.” A few giggles escaped Alexis. Turning, she jogged ahead and then coughed. Thick drapes covered her and she struggled until she wound herself out of them. Waving the drapes away, Alexis looked above at thick purple drapes which rose over her like vines. They drooped down from the faraway ceiling, waving in the air like silk violets. Craning her head, Alexis searched, but couldn’t find any fans. Looking back at the drapes and then shrugging, she moved
past until she walked down several steps. A thick red veil covered the next entrance and Alexis pushed through it and then saw what she had seen long before. Round tables covered with rich plum cloths layered each round dining table. A candle stood on top of every table, glowing in the dimness of the loghouse. In the center of the restaurant sat everyone else, Gloria dragging a seat towards the crowded table. A lone, piercing sound like that of a train whistle shot through the restaurant. Looking at the far side of the restaurant, Alexis saw lights blaring in the
restaurant kitchen. She saw several dark figures running through the kitchen and Alexis didn’t stop staring at them until Gloria waved a hand at her. Carefully, Alexis wended her way through the maze of tables until she reached the company.
“Weird, isn’t it that Séraphine’s is open,” Alexis whispered and then dragged a seat from a table beside theirs. “I mean, wasn’t it supposed to be closed at ten or something?”
“Not my restaurant, mon enfant!” cried a loud, piercing, guttural voice. Whipping her head around, Alexis saw a woman in a thin, slick brocade jockeying through the winding tables. Alexis’s eyes widened. The woman was clothed in a black dress colored in gold. Peering closer, Alexis thought that the gold was actually trees, limbs, and leaves inking through the black of her dress. The woman was tall, even taller than Gloria and Alexis saw a perfect blessing of lipstick on her bubble lips. She swayed so expertly, a hand on one side and her other flailing through the air like she was painting. A great clomping sound drowned out the chatter of the
company and Alexis’s friends fell silent as the woman drew level with them.
“Come, mon enfant, come. I will not bite. I am an ange, harmless!” The woman passed the company staring at her from their seats. Soon she reached Alexis, placing her free hand on Alexis’s shoulder. “Sit, sit, sit! I cannot have guests falling over in boredom and exhaustion. Especially, mon enfants! Sit down, and let Madame Séraphine take care of you.”
“Move, move!” shouted Madame Séraphine, waving her hands at Nahshon and
Rozella. Looking at each other, the two moved so that Alexis could put her seat in the middle of them. “That is better,” Madame Séraphine said, rolling her tongue. “I cannot have my famille working against me. I won’t have it.” Sighing, she looked around at the table. “Such happy faces, eh? No room for me?” She looked at the already crowded table. “I guess I must stand, but I will not mind it. I love the sight of such beautiful people, such lovely guests. Merveilleux!” Striding
around the table until she was in back of Gloria, Madame Séraphine clasped her hands together.
“My friends, welcome to my humble abode. I am forever and always, Madame Séraphine, at the service of the Xenphiri and all things dragon.” She played a quick curtsy, looking at the faces about her. “Of course, you may call me Séra. I am like the Gloria. I do not like everyone saying my full name all the time. It is useless. Ennuyeux!” Laughing, Séra waved a hand in the air and whispered. “But don’t tell anyone or I will have to revoke the privilege.”

Next WB Chapter and...my Novelette is Complete!!!

Hello everyone! Hello, hello, hello! How are you doing??? This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. I can't believe that I just threw out my first name. Shocker, right? :-) I just feel more like an academic today. I've done SO much reading that I feel like my brain is about to burst. Let's see, I have International Relations, British Literature, Intermediate Creative Writing, A Vietnam War Seminar....yes. :)

Anyway, I wanted to give y'all some GREAT News! I wanted to tell y'all something that I have waited for such a long time. On Sunday, right when the Super Bowl ended, I finished writing my novelette "The DNA of Souls." It's a science-fiction story about an alien named Marcellion that's imprisoned in a human facility. Dun, dun, dun! I had such a fun time writing the novelette. It's 38 pages and as I said before, I'm submitting it to the Writer's of the Future Contest. That's a fantasy/science fiction novelette competition so if y'all are considering a contest, this one is a great opportunity. I've only allowed a select group of people to look at the novelette while I edit. I may post some of it when I have a cleaner draft of the novelette. I cannot wait to submit it, but I need to be patient and let the editing process be. This is an exciting time!

Which means, I can get back into my novel. :D I have put my manuscript to the side for approximately 2 and 1/2 months. I had around 100 pages, 4 chapters and a prologue for my novel "Dragon Earth." I needed time to rest from a rough patch I experienced last semester, but now I'm back in action! I am reviewing my outline this week and I'll probably jump back into the novel today. :D I can't believe I would say that this soon, but I ask myself "what am I waiting for?" I have so many ideas spinning in my head. Hopefully, I'll look at my outline and see what I need to change and tweak before I get deeper into my novel. :)

So, chapter 5 of "The Midnight Disease." Alice W. Flaherty wrote this chapter called "How We Write." Now, I want to tell you. I spent a limited amount of time highlighting this chapter because my main focus is on Writer's Block, how it's caused, and how it can be reversed. Because this chapter focuses on more evolutionary and neurological challenges to writing and reading, I skimmed through this chapter. The next chapter is similar to the next chapter, called "Why We Write." Also, another chapter that will be interesting but doesn't totally relate to my research. So, let me give you my thoughts and a brief overview of the chapter and I will be gone. :D

From the get-go, Ms. Flaherty says that she is partially distinguishing the "drive" to write from the "control" of human language. She talks a lot about humans primarily learning to speak and then putting their thoughts down on paper. Particularly in the middle of the chapter, she distinguishes from writing and reading, which is quite interesting and I think you'll understand as I get into the chapter. The first sciency term she uses in the Doctrine of Modularity. Basically, this means that different brain functions are located in different parts of the brain. Easy. :) The sensory region of the brain means brain input while the motor of the brain means brain output. Sensory regions relate to speech, sight for reading, and sign language while motor regions relate to controlling the larynx, mouth, and hand. Neurologists have found that language is controlled by the left hemisphere. However, scientists have asked themselves why injuries to one hemisphere of the brain affects the opposite side of the body (example is damage to left side of brain affects right side of body.) One theory holds that humans used to walk with their heads on backwards. Funny, I know. :) Just a theory, but that's one that exists. A different theory states that a function spread over two hemispheres of brain would require longer nerve fiber connections, which would result in slower processing feeds. I think the second theory is interesting, although those who created it sort of assume that the body knew this somehow and kept these nerve fibers on side side to achieve supremacy. Again, not sure what I believe but it sure is interesting.

Ms. Flaherty connects semantics or figurative language which the temporal lobes and syntax with the frontal lobes. This is because of research conducted with Wernicke and Broca aphasics patients and those with Broca dealt with issues with syntax and the opposite with Wernicke patients. It's interesting because semantics deals more with poetry, such as words linking boat to ship. Syntax deals more with what we call "realism" and metonymy, and deals more with cause and effect or simply logic.

One thing I'll leave you with before I go is with some stats/facts. They're quite mind-boggling:

-10% of American adults are illiterate and read at less than a 6 grade level. (This is absolutely terrible!!!)
-Oral language evolved more than 100,000 years ago according to the Theory of Evolution; however writing evolved 5,000 years ago (first in Sumeria and kept changing with Chinese, Sumerian, and Mayan cultures).
-More right hemispheric activity with speech than writing

The last fact deals with how speech deals more with emotion and writing sucks out emotion. One can easily place voice inflections in their speech to distinguish how he/she/they are feeling, but writing requires thinking to convey this emotion. Ms. Flaherty discusses the Nixon tapes and how the President and his counsel used grammatically incorrect language, but in writing, humans are more pressed to write grammatically. Interesting, is it not? ;-)

Well, I had better get back to the "land of the living," wherever that is. I must read and study and hang out with friends a bit more. So goes the world of college. Have a wonderful day and I will see you soon. Mwah! :-)

-LaVel

"The DNA of Souls:" Slow But Steady Progress

Hello, hello, hello everyone! How are you? :-0) This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. Today, I worked on my novelette titled "The DNA of Souls." I had a blast writing this afternoon. As you can see above, one of the photos shows a waterfall. I listened to a 1 hour video of a waterfall while I wrote. It was absolutely soothing. Sometimes, silence can be oppressive and I feel the need to get my mind clear. Let me be clear though: I don't want a television or a radio blaring while I'm writing. That's the total opposite from the sound of beautiful...nature. ;) So, I just wanted to update y'all on that.

I'm approximately one-third through the story. I just wrote a scene where the main character, a prisoner named Marcellion meets with the Commander of the Galactic Federation. And what happens isn't pretty! Let's just say that he gets hit with a silver gun and than a bracelet gets attached to his skin. O__O On top of that, let's just say that our friend Marcellion is forced to undertake mission against his will by...the captors. Dun dun duuun. I wish I could share some of the manuscript with y'all now. However, I want to at least finish it and then I'll share some of it when I can. Okay? I must go. Laser Tag with my friends at Campus Crusade for Christ awaits! Have a good weekend and I'll see y'all soon. Bye. :-)

-LaVel

Lit Fest Short Story Update & New WB Chapter!

Hello everyone! How are you? This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. This week has been such a whirlwind. :) I've been doing a million readings for my International Relations course, Intermediate Creative Writing, and English. I mean, I LOVE all my classes, don't get me wrong! It's just that when you're trying to balance schoolwork with extra-curricular activities, the blog, a novelette, and a novel, life can get tough! But it's okay. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. I believe this verse more strongly than the first time I heard it. So let's keep the "yo-factor" going this week and into the weekend. Less whining, more action!

So, I met with my creative writing teacher about my short story. This is interesting. My professor, Alison Hennessee, HATES the Twilight Series. Gasp. I'm not the series's biggest fan, so it was interesting to get a female's take on the series (one that doesn't like the series. Shocker.) She could only receive my short story because she had to meet with other students, but she promised to get back to me on my story. "Blood of a Vampire" is due February 15th. If anyone would like to comment on the story, feel free. Ms. Erin told me about a several subject (noun, pronoun, etc) issues towards the beginning of the story. If anyone found parts where you were unsure which subject agreed with a verb, send me suggestions. Also, I edited the previous post but if you could not access the google document of "Blood of a Vampire" email me at vlavel@hotmail.com and I will send you a copy of the short story. I'm going to polish this rough draft so it's perfect for judging. ^___^

Anyway, let's get to the next chapter of "The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain" by Alice Flaherty. The chapter that I read today and I'm blogging on is chapter 4: "Writer's Block As a Brain State." Again, I encourage writers and readers alike to purchase a copy of "The Midnight Disease." Whether or not you believe that Writer's Block exists or that mental disorders influence how writers develop Writer's Block, pick it up. It's still worthwhile to read. Now, let's get into the book. I'll promise to be more concise than last time because I don't want to bore the heck out of y'all with superfluous details. ;)

So, what's up with the picture of the human sketch? That's from Leonardo Da Vinci and his "Notebooks," where he drew cerebral ventricles. What's that? I have no idea. The point is that Mr. Da Vinci experienced block and had many works left unfinished. I never knew this...this is one of the main reasons why I encourage you to buy a copy of this book. Ms. Flaherty reveals facts that I didn't know and are worthwhile to know. :D Ms. Flaherty begins the chapter by pointing out 2 reasons why people don't like to call Writer's Block a biological condition. The first relates to the relation with biological and genetic, meaning that if a brain shape can be changed, it can be limited by intelligence or creativity. Let's face it: most people would call that flat out wrong. However, Ms. Flaherty also points out that experience such as education can affect someone's mind and that "nurture" instead of "nature can have an effect on writers developing Writer's Block. The second reason is that Writer's Block is being lumped in as a neurological problem and that it can be cured. I totally understand writers objecting to the notion that they can be "cured" or that there's some great oppression they're under. I balance that with some of the facts Ms. Flaherty presents that writers experience depression 8 times more than the regular population. If this is the case (and this is something I'll look at more), then writers need to get the necessary help to counteract mental illness. It should be about making things up, it should be about getting the necessary help to maintain one's health and that's what I'm all about. :)

There are several analogies Ms. Flaherty ties to Writer's Block. The first is the "writer's cramp!" Bleh. :P What's the writer's cramp? It's a brain disorder of "the movements that form words." The more effort a writer puts into trying to write, the more stress they're under and the less capable to write. Gasp. :O She notes that writers should rest or take up some form of activity to lower the amount of stress from this writer's cramp. The second analogy is procrastination. Dun, dun, duun. No one likes it, but many people engage in it. I engage in procrastination, sadly. ;) Ms. Flaherty's disclaimer in the middle of the chapter is that Writer's Block and procrastination are different in theory. Those with Writer's Block have the "discipline" to sit down, but they cannot write. Those who procrastinate don't sit down to write, but when they're forced to, they can write a plenty. ^__^ Apparently, Charles Dickens was a procrastinator and especially procrastinated when he wrote his novel "Little Dorrit." Bad Charles Dickens, bad!

Apparently, scientists conducted an experiment with a pigeon. They had a lever above the pigeons and they couldn't reach the high lever that much. Because it couldn't reach it, the pigeons only went for it a few times to get the delicious seeds and treats. However, the scientists allowed more benefits to rain down from the lever each time the pigeon would succeed and because of that, the pigeon went for the lever more. Ms. Flaherty connects this to writing. If writers can reward themselves more from doing their work, perhaps they will be more motivated to sit down and write. I think that's fascinating. In general, I haven't heard a particular "strategy" where writers reward themselves for their hard work. I will have to ask my writer friends about this, but I would be willing to add "rewards," whatever they are to experiment. :)

Depression has also been linked to Writer's Block. Most clinicians link depression as the first cause of Writer's Block. As I said before, depression affects writers EIGHT TIMES more than the general population. Shocking! :O I never knew that. Anyway classic symptoms of depression are thus: lack of energy/imagination/ability to concentrate, change of appetite/sleep, feelings of guilt, disorganized thinking and action, and suicidal thoughts. French psychologist Julia Kristeva uses a rhetorical question in "The Midnight Disease:" "out of what eerie galaxy do its invisible, lethargic rays reach me, pinning me down to the ground, to my bed, compelling me to silence?" That;s exactly how I felt when I experienced depression last semester. I didn't want to write at all because I had little energy. As well, I had very disorganized, debilitating thoughts about my writing and I didn't believe in Ol' LaVel. Thank God I've moved on and I'm in a better place now. It's just that writers experiencing depression like me should be willing to reach out for help because the problem can keep reoccurring. A producer named Joseph Papp told his staff to avoid therapy for depression because they wouldn't be able to write. He tried to tap into the myth that if one doesn't get help for depression, the ebbs and flows caused by depression will cause an extreme high in creativity, despite the extreme low. If someone takes medication or counseling, a writer's creativity will somehow be "average." That's nonsense. Go get help for counseling if you need it. You'll only suffer inside and hurt the people around you who love you the most. It's not good at all to have someone unstable (and that's what people dealing with depression are, unstable) in the house negatively affecting everyone. It's not fair and it's not right. Ms. Flaherty briefly writes about "Cycles of Productivity" as the process where writers get lots and lots of ideas and then they have a season where ideas dry up. That can be true, unfortunately. :) I wish ideas would just keep coming, but it takes time. A way to water this "dry desert" of ideas would be to follow some battle plan like writers editing in the winter and write in the summer. That's a bit of a strange idea, but it's one in the book. ;) Ms. Flaherty promotes the idea of balance and a writer resting a bit for ideas to replenish. I don't think writers need to be extreme like that, but it's just an idea.

Before I go, I'll end with possible medical assistance which can curb depression and anxiety. Anxiety has the opposite affect that depression has where one has more nervous energy, but can't write because they're sweaty or jumpy. To combat anxiety, one can take relaxation techniques, biofeedback, medicine such as diazepam and alpralozam. Ms. Flaherty warns though that the medicines such as diazepam could lower a writer's performance. I don't know to what degree this is true, but she says it in the book. I would definitely recommend a writer speaking constantly with their doctor and getting the run-down on side effects from these medications. Ask the tough questions and see if the doctor thinks the medications will affect one's ability to think clearly and coherently when he/she's writing. Beta blockers however such as propranolol reduce anxiety but do not dull thinking like the one's above can. This is definitely good news for writers bearing anxiety. Go get that medicine y'all! ;)

I would leave this blog with just one word of advice: if you're experiencing something like depression, go to other writers who've experienced something like depression for help. I've dealt with depression and I know how I constantly thought that I couldn't work anymore and I was worthless. That's a lie. You know that? A complete LIE. Whether or not you're depression, writers can have anxious problems. We want our work to be perfect, but none of us are. Embrace your humanity, we have weaknesses and MOVE ON. We have work to do and we can't complete it if we keep asking ourselves why we are so HUMAN. It's ok. Breathe. Today is a day of opportunity. Tomorrow brings a new day. Take one step at a time and if need be, don't hesitate. Reach out to friends so they can pray and help work with you through any hard times you're going through. It worked for me, and it can work for you.

-LaVel

Lit Fest 2012

Hello everyone. This is Lavel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. I told y'all that I would post the rough draft of my short story "Blood of a Vampire." I won't give anything away; all I'll say is "read it." Hehe. :) Tell me what you all think of the story. All comments are welcome. I'm meeting with a professor of mine to look over the story. It's due February 15th to the Stylus Magazine at the University of Maryland. I'm entering the story into the Lit Fest 2012 Writing Competition so wish me luck! :)

Here's the link to the story:

document/d/1x440T1RM-hKg_ohRHnuxPTQgn8OAM2lIPfJIWlHtVDg/edit?hl=en_US

UPDATE: If you can't access the story, post your email below and I'll send it to you.

-I hope you like it. :)
LaVel