Last winter’s record snow. Did this cool you off?
The dictionary says that doldrums is a spell of listlessness or despondency, or a state of inactivity, stagnation or slump. There’s also a location in the ocean near the equator abounding in calms that is referred to as “the doldrums.”
It you’re suffering from any of these definitions, then there are things you can do to overcome them. They tell me folks like to read lists, so I’ll make one here.
- Take some time away from whatever you’re doing to do something completely wild.
- Call a writer friend and engage them in a short conversation about what they’re doing.
- Draft a short story about something totally out of the realm of your usual writing.
- If you’re a prose writer, write a poem, the sillier the better.
- Find a movie or tv show on Hulu that you’ve always wanted to watch, kick back and enjoy it on your computer.
- Take off all your clothes and run through the yard singing. No, wait, that’s only if you live in the boonies. Otherwise your friends might have to visit you in jail. No more doldrums.
- Edit the first chapter of a published book that could be a lot better.
- Post a blog like this one.
- Eat chocolate, drink champagne. This should go without saying.
Then, to finish it up, ask all the readers to send one suggestion to help everyone drag themselves out of their summer doldrums and get back to creative writing.
Okay, everyone. What do you do to get rid of the doldrums during these long, hot summer days?
Velda Brotherton 
Eat chocolate, drink beverage–sounds like a plan!
Eat chocolate, drink beverage–sounds like a plan!
Read a genre I'm not used to, write a poem in an unfamiliar style, write a short story about something I know nothing about. 😀
Well, we're certainly NOT having a hot summer here in the Pacific Northwest. But going out into nature, especially spending some time by water, usually helps me a lot. Chocolate, too!
I retreat to my studio and play with the mass amount of papers and inks… redirecting my creative energy to something else for awhile.
Like a Vengeful LoverThe sun barely crawls across a naked skyTrees stand painfully motionlessEven the wind is too tired to blowThe once rain-soaked ground gives up her precious moistureVaporous waves lay tremblingBaking us in a giant ovenAll creatures, large and small, beg for reliefTheir rhythmic panting helps pass the timeWaiting for the mercy of the night“Oh Mother Night, please come quickly,Wrap your black-velvet arms around meHold me till the coming of the dawn"The friendly coolness fades ever so quicklyHeat returns like a vengeful loverWith jealous anger to burn us upFor shade and shelter we all go scramblingLike drops of sweatRacing down an ice cold glassShorten tempers become flared to fightingThe smallest thing just sets us offWhile Heat rears its head and laughs
Some terrific ideas here, but it looks like chocolate won out. Thanks for all the comments. We're still running 100 degrees most days. That's hot, even for NW Arkansas.
…and with all that humidity, it should be downright illegal to be that hot.