My Deadly Battle With The Brain Slugs

I have often talked about how I would rather be physically exhausted than mentally exhausted. I remember years ago coming out of the ACT test and then going to Arby’s with the majority of my class for lunch. We all sat around like zombies because of the mentally taxing nature of the test.
Funny Story: Being from a small town, the majority of the Adair kids got lumped together at the school in the big metropolis of Pryor and the test was proctored by a teacher from Adair. As we were all settling in, a random teacher came in asking if anyone was left-handed. (I am.) So instead of being taking the test in a right-handed desk with no support for my arm, I was taken to the cafeteria to sit at long tables for a more comfortable environment.
My friends, being the jackals that they are, immediately pounced on me. “Of course, Ryan made a good score. He got to take ‘the left-hander’ test. Anyone can score high on the ‘left-hander’ test.” It is a joke that makes me laugh even to this day.
Well, over the last couple days, I have been close to that point of mental exhaustion typically reserved for ACT testers or those attempting to figure out why everyone loves The Office so much. (I just don’t get it! I would much rather watch My Name is Earl.)
Thank goodness for experience.
Right now, I am at a point where I am under a deadline for a comic book assignment. It is not a tremendously stressful deadline and most of the pressure is coming from me to just get this bad boy done.
I rewarded myself by sneaking out on Tuesday evening to watch The Incredible Hulk with some friends. (Fantastic movie by the way. Totally washed away the failures of the first movie but more on that next blog.)
From there, I had two days off from my 9-to-5 craptacular job and I wanted to try to get ahead with some pages to give me some deadline cushion considering that the 4th of July is right around the corner and that is the busiest week of the year for us.
So it was time for a literary butt kicking.
Even with the kids home and Amy away at clinicals, I have managed to finish 28 pages of an 80-page script. That’s a nice chunk of writing. I’m over 3/10ths of the way finished. Wait. Is my math right on that? Close enough. I’m exhausted. Granted, it is a rough draft and I’m sure it will need some polishing but still, that’s not a bad two days.
Still, there were times where I actually had to push myself away from the computer because I could feel the effect coming on I call “brain-puddining.” (And I own the copyright on that term, freeloaders. You cannot use it without my expressed written consent.) It is that moment of mental devolving due to overuse, like trying to wring too much water out of a sponge.
Thank goodness I know the cure. A little Grand Theft Auto IV on my XBOX 360 and DVRed episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and The Colbert Report.
Still, these are the moments when I am happiest. The creative energy is flowing. The stories are all coming together. I’m developing all sorts of interesting scenes and challenges for the artist. And I am challenging myself too because after my last heroic sword fighting, adrenaline fueled monster hunting, grrrrr epic, I am now writing a romantic story specifically targeting the young teenage girl demographic.
Crazy, huh? More soon.