| SOMETIMES YOUR THINKING BLOCKS YOUR CREATIVITY
by Billie A Williams ©2006 We’ve all heard of writer’s block and everyone has an opinion on what causes it. I’m not going to say I have the answer to it, but experts say that in order to be creative a person must stay in the NOW. You know, the very moment. That means no worrying about what hasn’t happened yet. No focusing on what is past. In order to create we must go with the flow which is in the present moment. I read something once and I don’t know who to attribute it to I paraphrase it here. The past is gone, the future isn’t here yet, all we really have is the now – it’s our gift of time. That is why it is called the present. Another little tidbit is the one that says, “today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday,” now, if that doesn’t confuse you nothing will. It does make sense though. When we worry we just borrow trouble from one day to mess up another. The worst thing it does, especially if you are a writer, is to halt the muse. Worrying creates anxiety. In an anxious state your thoughts are churning up enough mud to stall a Peterbuilt Semi tractor, muddying the water of your thinking, not letting your creativity flow. Again, the experts say, our minds can only concentrate on one thing at a time. If you are absorbed in worry, that is where you are focused, not on the blank screen or the empty page where you are planning to add words. If you are not actively thinking about the writing task at hand, your mind is scattered and you won’t write. Another negative of worry is that it attacks your self-esteem. When you feel incapable of facing some future or past event, your self-confidence takes a nose dive. When you are feeling vulnerable, lacking self-confidence, it is really hard to write with the conviction and or edit with the objectivity you need. Realizing that you are more than your problems, giving yourself permission to set them aside for a brief period while you do the writing that you love, frees your mind to be creative. So what can you do? For starters admit that you do not have all the answers. Some times when you put things into the back of your mind and let your subconscious work on them without your interference, the answer will come to you. One solution I heard and often use myself is called the God jar…You take those pesky worries and write them on a little slip of paper and stuff them into a jar, your God jar. Then you let go and let God. Chances are the answer to that problem will come to you while your mind is actively creating in a different realm. We need to get comfortable with not knowing all the answers all the time. We have to realize it’s okay not to know. Once you take the pressure off yourself to come up with the answer, it usually surfaces. Another unique solution to this problem I read in Kristi Holl’s book titled Writer’s First Aid, Getting Organized, Getting Inspired, and Sticking to It. Her solution was to literally put your worries on the back burner. She suggests getting a large cooking pot out, writing your worries on slips of paper and tossing them into the pot. Put a lid on it and let them simmer, without turning the burner on of course. This, of course, frees up that creativity by allowing you to free flow onto the page. You’ll get the writing done and obviously will come up with a time out to solve the problem without doing it hastily in order that you can get on with the writing. The next time you feel blocked, check your thinking. What are you thinking about instead of the writing project you should be absorbed in? De-stress, by putting your worries on the back burner, in the God jar, or under the blanket of your daybed to wait until you are ready to come back to them. The best way to jog your creative juices is to be totally absorbed in the present and your love of the writing task at hand. Enjoy the present; it is your gift from your higher power. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Billie A Williams is an award winning author of more than a dozen novels, books of poetry, how to non-fiction books, plays for community theater, as well as columns for several e-zines. She is a regular contributor to her local newspaper and is currently working on an adaptation to screen play for one of her novels, Tung Umolomo. Visit her website at www.billiewilliams.com or contact her at billie@billiewilliams.com Feel free to pass this article on to your friends, use it in your newsletter or other ways as long as you leave my signature information intact and do not alter the information in anyway. |
| SOMETIMES YOUR THINKING BLOCKS YOUR CREATIVITY |