Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Breaking through the wall



No matter how hard we try, creativity can’t be forced. You need to find a way to gently open the door. If you feel your energy is blocked, let go. Stop using your brain and let your imagination take over. There are times you need to stop thinking and start feeling the story. There are a couple of tricks that help me break through any obstacles…or not. Can all stories be saved? That is a blog for another day.

Anytime I'm feeling a little stuck or in need of some story details I grab a comfy pen and a notebook. I have about a dozen notebooks filled with projects and ideas.

Sometimes our mind gets so cluttered and stressed from life and our own expectations in the artistic realm that we can’t hear the voices. Those are the times I unplug completely. It is a terrifying thought but on occasion, I have found it difficult to plug back into the chaos of the world we live in.
Anytime I'm feeling a little stuck or in need of some story details I grab a comfy pen and a notebook. I have about a dozen notebooks filled with projects and ideas.

UNPLUG 
Turn it all off for as long as you can, adding more stress won’t help you.
No TV
No computer
No phone unless it’s being used as a writing tool and not a distraction.

As last resort, I let the story go, not out of anger or frustration. I tell people I have put it on the back burner. I take a scene or a story idea and I think it through as thoroughly as I can, and then I let it go. Not in the true sense, I check in with my characters periodically to see if anything new has developed while the story has been simmering like a hearty stew.

Creativity has a life of its own, a pulse, a heart,  a rhythm that lives within all the creative. The stress of everyday life has a way of disrupting the energy we thrive on. For me, my muse is usually lurking where the wild things live. The trees, the water, and the soothing sounds of nature help me find the words and thoughts to finish my story.