Write when the mood takes you or, if not, when?

Response 1: If I waited until I was in the mood to write, then little would ever be written. I can only dream of disappearing off to an idyllic writing retreat, where I can while away the days mulling over ideas in the shade of a tree, overlooking the sea.

In practice, I have to write in small fractures that open up in the continuum of time. 

I write in cafes, before swimming, while swimming, over lunch, after hours, before sunrise, on planes, buses and trains, and at bus stops, stations and airports.

I even write on the notepad in my mind, when I’m in the twilight zone as I drift off to sleep or during lap swimming in the pool. And of course, I write in the countdown to writing group and although I don’t like to admit it, I often write when I’m supposed to be doing something else. 

I don’t really need to be in the mood to write, because writing is just the realisation of an idea, and a good idea will take hold, whether or not I’m in the mood to receive it.

Rob Carrick

Response 2: The saying, 'When the mood takes you', is often bandied about as though it's something you freely choose and without consequences ... where everything will have a happy ending 

Sometimes life works like that but at other times it's simply a bad idea with outcomes you never considered possible.

Here are a few to start with: 

I slept in because my mood didn’t want me to get out of bed but then I was running late for that all-important meeting or catch-up with a friend. Nobody was impressed and now I’m judged as unreliable and downright rude.

I was feeling lonely and left out, and my mood told me I needed some company. So I went out to have a few drinks at the local pub and chat with strangers, which always bucks me up. But the next day I woke up with a giant hangover and then, to top it off, I realised I’d left my phone in some unknown god-forsaken place, and forgotten to turn on the location tracker. I now need to fork out money for a new phone.

I was in one of those ‘mood swings’; I think you know what I’m talking about. A good looking guy smiled at me in a café, and I flirted back, as you do. He asked for my phone details, and being caught up in the feel-good mood, I handed over my number without too much fuss, thinking it was harmless or some thought equally dumb. Next, I get 200 text messages within the space of an hour and I realised I’d found myself a real live stalker-type. Why did I make that rash decision, was all I could think. I had been 'in the mood' was the answer.

I had to have a serious talk to myself after that: 'Look here, girlie. You need to get a grip on yourself.'

You’d think by now I’d have woken up to some of the pitfalls of going with the mood, but no, apparently not! 

So, now I just get on with living each day and try to be ‘more present, in the moment’ as the Buddha advised. (If only he lived next door and I could pop in for a cuppa every time I feel 'in the mood'.) I'd get some advice on how to find some self-control.

I’ve taken to reminding myself that we are hominids after all. We are happiest when we’re with other hominids; it’s in our DNA to be sociable and co-operative.

The downside is that we can be unpredictable, not always reliable, and that we are not always in control especially of ourselves - although we’re good at fooling ourselves.

Living alone can take the pressure off. You don’t have to be accountable to anyone, just yourself. Eat, sleep, pray, and curse when you choose. Wear nothing, turn off all devices and just sit in silence listening to the birds roosting in the trees outside. Watch only movies you really like, or yell and scream blue murder, just to let it all out.

Write when the mood takes me? Um… I'll have to give that some more serious thought.

Meg Mooney

Copyright:

text: Rob Carrick & Meg Mooney; photos: Wix.

Posts on this SSOA blog are published to showcase the work of emerging writers who meet weekly to workshop stories.

These posts comprise some of the responses written in just 10 minutes as a warm up to the meetings.

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