WRITER'S FEVER: GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT
Writer's Fever
(phase of writer)
the condition of being feverishly compelled to write without stopping, as though possessed by something supernatural and unearthly.
This condition should not be dismissed. It has proved itself to be highly contagious and isolation should be implemented the moment symptoms surface.
The most common diagnosis occurs in "creative types", typically after long bouts of Writer's Block (a related illness that can be read about in one of my previous blogs "writer's blockdown" - link here.)
However, those at risk now also include recent sufferers of Cabin Fever as a direct result of the recent lockdown due to the Pandemic.
If any of the above information pertains to you (and I expect it does) and you suspect you might be at risk, I advise you to proceed with caution. Abrupt overstimulation following lockdown of any length will likely increase the likelihood of you contracting Writer's Fever.
Symptoms of Writer's Fever include:
Hermit like behaviour, nocturnal waking hours, an unexplained exhaustion, the feeling of dreaming while awake, severe cramping of the hand, fervid imaginings, and of course feverish and frantic spells of writing that cannot be stopped.
Things to avoid/limit in order to prevent contracting Writer's Fever:
- too much fresh air being allowed to reach and restore the brain and lungs after long periods indoors
- an increase in book or text reading that might inspire or excite the mind
- social interaction (distanced or otherwise) that will remind one how to articulately string a sentence together in a manor that's passably human
- access to writing materials of any kind, such as pens, paper or convenient modern alternatives such as laptops
What to do if, despite these precautions, you begin showing symptoms:
Try to remain calm. Disguise your excitement about the influx of ideas and words pouring into your brain. This is the first symptom. You can now be sure you are in the fever's grip. The key thing is to focus on breathing, and retaining all these ideas until a suitable storage facility can be reached. Proceed with care to a secure, secluded nook where you can scribble all ideas down. Take care to be detailed. This is crucial to future research into the effects of this fever. Do NOT be alarmed if you later discover what you have written to be incoherent bibble-babble. This is a further symptom of Writer's Fever, and one that I failed to mention earlier.
To date, I regret to inform you, this fever remains incurable. It is not life threatening, though you may experience many alarming quickenings of the pulse as the result of self-created drama and plot twists.
Do NOT FEAR. No writer has ever perished or gone mad as a result of a vivid or hyperactive imagination...oh wait...perhaps they have...scratch that! BE FEARFUL.
STAY SAFE. STAY AWARE. STAY WIERD.
And there we have it folks. My unorthodox writing update for the week. Here's to hoping this writer hasn't tipped over into madness quite yet!
Apologies for this frantic, and hopefully not to disconcerting blog. I am not a medical professional, so I am not at liberty to advise you as to home remedies, drugs and/or experimental treatments for this phantasmagorical and ever-so-slightly fictional Fever.
Until next week! Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed and could comprehend my "incoherent bibble-babble".
No comments:
Post a Comment