Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.
Neil Gaiman
Osterman stared at his blank computer screen, its blinking cursor pulsed away, its signal was soft, and the wireless mouse said nothing about the day.
He grasped the mouse tightly and battled himself: smash the screen, or simply take the mouse to the local Goodwill Store and have them throw it in the pile of castaways and lost prose?
Osterman tried, but couldn't run away from the truth: not even a computer mouse, built to navigate and assert the next best seller, could be married to him.
His reliable ceramic-plastic-electrical built to last of a companion, so productive mouse betrayed him!
And all he could do was argue: I've gotta get rid of this reminder to write today!
While it's short and doesn't have any twist, your story resonates with frustrated writers everywhere. I recall, not too long ago when writers refused to use the mouse at all, saying that the only way to operate a computer properly was to use those wonderful multiple keystrokes to get things done. And then, of course, there were those that refused to use the computer at all because "the only way to write is with pencil to pad, so that one can clearly show all the corrections made to the manuscript on its way to the publisher."
And, I will even go back to whether the fountain pen left the quill and ink well behind or when paper forced parchment from the writing scene. I write with my voice. Unfortunately, the system won't accept my dirty words… Even the relatively minor ones.
I don't blame my equipment for writers' block. However, the latest mice have so much going on with finger manipulation that I can't use them. And, my 15-year-old single click mice are getting old and worn out. The one I'm using on this computer is quite haywire and causes all kinds of incorrect actions like sending messages twice and openings apps I don't want to use. But I can't blame that on bad writing or the inability to write.
Lined and Unlined
Fun Tidbits and Trivia about each state.
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