When I was a freshman in college, someone once said that there was no such thing as writer's block. I was so annoyed by his words and the surety with which he spoke that I can clearly remember narrowing my eyes up at him and trying to figure out if he was just attempting to get a rise out of everyone or simply being pretentious. The school I went to was full of people pretending to be much better at their creative craft than they really were, and the writer's group I attended only once was certainly no exception. There was no mirth in his expression, however, no slight upturn to his lips, no hidden amusement in his eyes. He was dead serious. Someone asked him to explain.
“A true writer is never blocked,” he continued, satisfied by the attention he'd drawn. “Perhaps he may be momentarily stunted on a particular piece, but all he has to do is take a step outside, sit down with a cup of coffee outside a cafe, watch people as they pass, and the muses will come. Will they be for the same piece in which he struggles? Not necessarily. But the muses will come, and write he will find he must. He is not blocked, only redirected.”
I may be adding a little eloquence to the words that were spoken that night, but the message is still the same and it's something I've never forgotten. As much as I thought he really was pretentious at the time, he wasn't wrong. I may not have recognized it then but I certainly do now, years later.
People watching has always been something I have loved to do, especially at a public venue or event like the Highland Games, a concert, or waiting to be seated at a restaurant. You see little things that you can employ in character development that makes them more real to the reader: the way someone plays with their nails while trying to make a decision; the stride of someone whose left leg is just a little shorter than the right; the small, secret smile of someone who's just remembered something that instantly makes them happy and then immediately makes them sad for some reason. People are fascinating creatures and they spark all sorts of creative inspiration in all of us artsy-fartsy types. There have been times when I have been deep into more than one project at once and cement blocked on all of them, but I step away to just observe and the proverbial muses swirl around me as I see and hear and smell and experience creativity all around me. And before I know it, another story idea is being born.
It's the little things. Sometimes, it's the unexpected things. Driving down the road and seeing a man raking the leaves, falling to his knees before the pile he's created. Is he weeping? Did he just drop something that he now has to find? Is he having a health crisis? So much possibility that passes by in the space of time it takes to zip through a green light. The sound of a congregation all turning the pages of their Bibles at once can take you out of the sanctuary as it mimics the soft patter of rain falling on a tin roof in the middle of a cold night. Even the hum of silence can stir up the most ominous of feelings within us, painting before our closed eyes scenes of terror that simply must be put into words, or brushed across a canvas, or put to a rhythm for our bodies to follow. We are, as they say, slaves to inspiration. It comes when it will with no thoughts or care as to where we are, who we are with, or how inconvenient it may or may not be.
One of the areas by which I have always been most inspired is music. My favorite type of musicians are the storytellers who happen to be singing their stories rather than telling them in book format. Artists like Carrie Underwood, Sara Bareilles, and Sia who don't just sing love songs but take us through an introduction to a character, a conflict, a climax, and sometimes — but not always — a resolution. Those are my favorite songs. I think that's part of the reason why I always loved Josh Groban as well. Aside from his amazing voice, each of his songs — the ones that were in English so that I actually understood what was being sung — was a story.
In 2006, Josh came out with his third album, Awake, and on it was one of my all time favorite songs of his. It is still one of my top three even twelve years later and has inspired many romantic fantasies and scenes that were never used in various projects. The song is called “So She Dances,” and I am determined to still use the inspiration that song arouses someday, somewhere, because it is so precious to me. From the first time I heard it, I could see the entire moment as clear as day. The faces within the scene always change but my setting never has, and it has never lost its thrill. There are other songs of his that evoke emotion like that within me as well like “Broken Vow” and “Remember When It Rained.” More recently “Happy in My Heartache” is just... I can't explain why that song effects me the way it does. But still, nothing has quite reached the level of “So She Dances.”
There is no such thing as writer's block. Only redirection. It's something I have to tell myself the next time I get frustrated by the lack of forward motion on any given project. Just because I'm stuck in one place doesn't mean I'm stuck everywhere. Maybe I need to be moving forward somewhere else until it's time for me to be moving forward again in the other place. Kind of like life.
I want to apologize for my long hiatus, dear readers. It was unexpected and I'm going to work my hardest to get back into the weekly Wednesday updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding. It's good to be back with you.
So, for those of you creative types out there, what do you do to battle creativity block?