writer's block...

I keep trying to goose myself into working on this story but always get stopped my what I preceive as the shear magnitude of the task. I suppose if I simply break the job down into little  segments, then I would have an easier time of it. Alas, even the simplest little segments to write are hard. What was that statement:

"In war, all things are simple but even the simplest things are hard."

[or words to this effect]

I remember being told about a simple technique for starting writing. That is, to start write mindlessly and hopefully, this would lead into creative writing. By writing "mindlessly", I mean writing the same sentences over and over until I find myself in the mood to begin writing creatively.   I am referring to the sentgences we had to type up and send as test tapes when I was a Navy teletype operator:

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG'S BACK 1234567890 TIMES. NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN TO COME TO THE AID OF THEIR COUNTRY.

Name of the book:
          Author:
    Type of book:

blink

"Doomsman" by Harlan Ellision

Name of the book: Doomsman 
________Author: Harlan Ellison
______Type of book: Military Science Fiction, 1967

This is truly Harlan Ellison's greatest book!^*

At a Science Fiction/Fantasy Convention at Oregon State University in 1975, I went to a talk given by Harlan Ellison. I asked him about "Doomsman". He replied "where did you get that book?" I answered that I bought a copy in Istanbul in late 1972. He was ok with this reply and said, as I recall "I had a deadline and needed to get a novel submitted. I wrote this book in about 19 hours". [definitely "words to that effect" as this happened just over 37 years ago]

He went on to discuss other matters and refused further questions about "Doomsman".

The story, as I recall it goes:





^* Actually, I've read that Ellison hates this book.