no amount of chocolate biscuit incentives and deliberate distractions can get this mule of an essay going. nohrnberg always says that if you've got an idea the prose takes care of itself. the bloody trouble is that i've known exactly what i wanted to say since saturday morning but the only thing that's taking so bloody long is that the prose not only refuses to take care of itself it resists any kind of attempts at fluidity and clarity!!! three exclamation marks is about enough, for the time being, but if i have to write another of these entries in another 3 hours i'm going to be very angry. i shall find some good music and turn my determined nob back to the essay.