One of the greatest enemies of writers, or anyone in a
particular artistic field, is to get the doldrums. Becoming stagnant is often the death-stroke
to the greatest of masterpieces. It’s
one of the leading causes of unfinished manuscripts sitting in attic boxes, incomplete
paintings piled in corners, or half-finished songs piled in piano seats. For authors,
these lethargies are often referred to as ‘writer’s block’, but I’m starting to
discover another reason.
It’s human nature to be ritualistic, to consolidate our
lives. Routine is good, especially when
it comes to being productive and organized.
Establishing a routine requires creativity and imagination, the desire
to take disorder and rearrange into order.
For someone creative, this process stimulates our gifts. The danger appears once order is established,
and creativity is no longer in demand.
For writers, this is the moment when we find ourselves with our fingers
on the keyboard, but are uninspired. I
don’t think this moment is because our creativity is blocked, but our inspiration
hasn’t been exercised.
Our lives are filled with a series of memorable
moments. If those moments are all
uniform, the same day in and day out, they become insignificant and uninspiring. If you find yourself in the doldrums, change
something. It doesn’t have to be a big
thing, just something that will cause a new experience. Switch it up, but stay on target. Don’t lose sight of the finish line, just
change lanes. Then watch creativity shift
into gear at the prospect of a new disorder to conquer.
Till next time,
~T.L. Gray
