Before I began this blog, my vision of writer's block was rather vague. I had felt its effects, no doubt about it, but my definition wandered off into a dissertation on situations and excuses. I have begun now to see the block as a tangible object. A block of wood best symbolizes for me exactly how writer’s block feels. Pick it up, hold it in your hand. Try it..
Don’t just hold the object, become familiar with its texture, its temperament, its compliance. Whether you choose marble or pine, it will take on new life in your hands. Whittle it, carve it, cuddle it. Perhaps you prefer something more portable. Select a smooth stone. Feel it warm to your pulse. The fear is gone. There is still the unknown, but that is where creativity begins. Eventually you will see your writer’s block as a work of art. You may or may not become a prize winning woodcarver, or a master sculptor, but each time you select an object to symbolize your writer’s block, you have created a situation that will allow you to manage it.
Until you become more comfortable with the concept, you might want to choose something that is easier to alter.. Perhaps clay, or play doh, even paper. Choose a material that leaves you feeling its possibilities. You will more than likely select different materials on different days. The material is not the focus. It is merely an obstacle to overcome that sits between writer and Muse. You might want to annhilate it, use it to create a thing of beauty, or simply hold it until its energy flows to you.
There are many tools at hand to break the block, but first you must see it for what it is…something that can be changed. In future entries, I will explore some of the methods I use to touch fingertips with Calliope.. In the meantime, if you are inspired to share your methods for breaking the block please send them to me at admin@wordflair.net. From time to time we will feature a guest writer and include their article in this blog. Our goal is to find as many ways to break writer's block as there are reasons for it.
Time is a fleeting thing and minutes are already precious. Still, I would say to you, we find the time to do the things we really want to do.
Make writing a part of everything you do. There is no room in my home that does not have a pen and note pad by my usual seat in that room. I even keep writing materials on the credenza in my powder room.
Most often we think in terms of finished pieces. That is prohibitive and causes us to lose so many bon mots to the chaos of the day. Make it a practice to jot down phrases, unique words, thoughts. Collect them; they are valuable. When reading, stop to make note of all those things you’re sure you won’t forget. If we were as careless with our pennies as we are with our thoughts, we would soon be broke.
Keep a hand-held voice-activated recorder handy for when you are stuck in traffic. Sometimes speaking your thoughts aloud gives vent to a wellspring of creativity. Don’t wait until you have the time to complete a polished presentation. Make every minute count; think in snippets.
She's fickle and tends to be temperamental. I believe at sometime or another we've all learned not to take her for granted. What can I say? She's Greek.
Artists of all kinds come in all kinds and work in different ways. It's not really feasible to suggest what you should do, should the muse temporarily abandon you. It's more helpful I think to tell you what I do when the muse won't work for me. What I endeavor to do is nothing. I do not presume on the attentions of a Goddess.
Seriously, I've learned that I can not force that creative idea that mushrooms into a work of art, in this case, specifically, a poem. There are some writers who can sit down every day at precisely 3:15 and write until 6:15 and stop until the morrow. I am one of these. Did I just speak in opposites? Yes, of sorts, I did.
What I mean to say is that the spark, the first line, the initial idea, I must trust to the muse. Once, I'm embedded within the work, I have the discipline to come and go at will. As a matter of fact, I've found this is very wise. If I let the poem I'm writing sit for a day or so, I find that when I come back to it, the muse is there with little sparks to make my working poem shine brighter. In fact I'm amazed at what I did not see was more or less under my nose at the last writing.
This is not to detract from the spontaneous poem but merely separate the two in categories. I've written some of my best poems spontaneously, but in practice I take awhile to hone a poem before I put it up for "show and tell". I take care though to not overwork it. This is something that is instinctive and just builds on experience. It is just as important to stop when the muse dictates as it is to begin.
Like many other poets, I am a danger on the road, as I look for something to jot that precious muse-whisper onto before the idea is gone with the wind and like the grocery list, and the coupons, I left the tape recorder at home. When I'm watching or listening to media I am always open to inspiration. Many of my poems are inspired by PBS specials or the History Channel, even the news. It is my habit, lazy creature that I am to lie in bed, watch TV and work at the laptop computer. If I'm engaged in something other than poetry, I can still quickly bring up Word and jot the initial spark of an idea down so that I do not lose it. Google and other search engines are invaluable sources of research to me and I personally believe that a new poetry of sorts is developing side by side with technology that to some degree will change the way we create, share, and actually read poetry. I'm no Jules Verne but I am an artist and all art is influenced by the inventions of time. The Bard did not have Google at hand but he did have a library thanks to Gutenburg.
Like me and so many others, Shakespeare used history to his advantage not to mention what was contemporary if not dangerous to the times he lived in. I've a strong suspicion that the Muse and the Bard was an item if you catch my drift. William was no novice when it came to romance and I further would not be surprised if the Bard does not have a very comfortable couch somewhere in eternity.
Regarding work shopping, it did not work for me. There are enough unfortunate misunderstandings on-line as it is, for this codependent case [I speak of me] to ever take the emotional strain of this sort of group therapy. It may fit your temperament very well, however. It depends entirely on just how thick your skin is, how firm your boundaries are, and how well you can juggle misunderstandings. I still grieve the number of poems I chopped up, all for the sake of trying to satisfy too many different points of view, and I've no heart for psychological warfare. By all means try it though. Much can be learned of value, just tread softly and carry an anthology of urban street language for rebuttals.
Finally, I would tell you to trust in the muse. She may go wandering but she'll return. Life may have you under too much strain or you may be ill. There are many reasons why the Muse may be telling you to rest awhile. Do not try and dictate to her. Just follow her lead and be grateful to her. She's a gift to not be taken for granted.
To address the problem of Writers Block I would like to suggest the following. especially if there is more than one person with this stumbling block. Set an exercise. using 5 help words or phrases etc., short and sweet. No more than ten minutes to be spent on each.
Example words:
1) shiftless,
2) egg-timer,
3) transmitter,
4) pastry,
5) sunshine
Phrase:
1) Why a Vampire! Mother?
2) She fell to her knees!
3) The ink dripped off the end of the nib.
4) Just why did you do it! Why! why!
5) It felt so soft upon my cheek.
Join a couple together, use singularly, Don't think about them, no notes, just in the next thirty minutes. write something anything.
Just remember, there is no HAVE TO, just take a word and write a wee story or poem...only ten mins, then on to the next one.
