There are several writing projects that I'd like to be working on. Unfortunately, January in Dallas/Fort Worth is currently... I don't know, sixty degrees or so - I mean, I'm in slacks and shirt, here. Who needs a jacket, or even a sweater, in the middle of January, right? So, yeah. Nice Spring weather. With, of course, nice Spring allergies.
So, my head is stuffy and a little achy, and I'm notably more tired than I should be. First World Problems, I'll admit, but still annoying - especially when I'm hoping to get some writing done.
The upshot of all that is that I don't really have anything witty or insightful to say today. So this is an open thread. In honor of the occasion, the suggested (but by no means mandatory) topic is, "What helps you get over writer's block? (Or Artist's block, or other sorts of doldrums in the creativity?)"
For me, exercise usually helps. Violent exercise, for a preference, but even a medium-length walk has been known to help. What about you?
For me, it depends on how serious the block is. If it's a simple "Where do I start" type of thing, I usually use the old artist's trick of making random scribbles on a page and seeing what I can make out of them. It's kind of like seeing pictures in the clouds.
ReplyDeleteFor more serious creative blocks, I will often just do some other activity for a little bit. A quick walk (I often do this as a problem solver at work), read, play a game. If my brain isn't creative at the moment, it usually just needs some rest and new stimulus to get going again.
I find the new stimulus part to be the most effective. Nothing seems to get the brain going like doing something you've never done before. Even doing something differently can work wonders. When I take my walk at work, I usually walk the circuit the same way. The other day I decided to reverse the route. It felt so weird, but I noticed some things I hadn't seen before.