One of the difficult things about writing is trying to keep from being discouraged by the man-hours-to-production ratio which is, at least for me, disappointingly low. Although putting together material for a full-length record takes a lot of time, most of that can be attributed to the collaborative process; actually writing, re-writing, editing and arranging the songs might not be a lightning-fast process, but neither does it move at a snail's pace.
That said, having worked through the weekend with one day off for a prior commitment, I'm up to about 20 single-spaced pages and still going strong, which is much better than I would've predicted. I'm getting back into the writing mindset, which means learning to accept and even rejoice in the fact that one measly page represents much rolling up of the shirtsleeves, battening down of the hatches, and cracking of the whip. Spending all day doing creative work that doesn't really come easy has an effect not unlike that of a real job; at the end of the day, you're so mentally exhausted that you just want to crack a couple of Miller's and take in the ballgame on ESPN before heading off to bed. It's not always such a bad feeling.
But there's no time for atta-boy's; I've only barely started to chip away. So after a quick run in the rain it's back to the salt mines for your working boy. I'll try to report back later in the week.