Creative Block Insurance

I haven't written any word of fiction for a week now and it passed my mind that the reason might be the famous creative block so many people are talking about. And let's admit it, its sounds scary, 'creative block', as if you have been blood-bended, have no control over life in your body and are ridiculous and useless. So, likewise most human beings with analytical preference, I started searching for the route cause of this condition, in order to avoid it occurring in the future.

Always ask the Why

So, let's see what is the reason for the lack of ideas. No, a voice starts protesting in my head, there are ideas like the one for the onions soup short story and the other one for 'the big sister' reality show, you are just to lazy to realize them, that's it. It is not right, I am not lazy, the voice of self-identification responds in a tone intended as peaceful and collected, yet the hues of annoyance transpire through the loosely weaved 'playing-it-cool' fabric. It is the block, the ego keeps insisting, the plague for all artists, it has nothing to do any laziness what-so-ever, it happens to everyone with a talent once in a while. I just have to figure out the details and eventually solve the problem. Whatever, the first voice says and rolls its eyes. It's a fact, there are ideas, it concludes mildly enough for the ego to go savage. 'Those are useless, boring and indisputably stupid ideas, nobody cares about any onion soup, no one will eat it, let alone read about it. Now you just shut your mouth and let me solve the problem, ok?'.

'So what caused this condition' - the internal investigation in my head continues, as the ego lays stringent eyes on the analytical mind and the memory. Memory shrugs. The analytical mind, also analogical in this case pulls a card off his sleeve: 'It is a complete blockage, dude, nothing around here functions any more, too late for you to ask, I can't do anything'.

How to fight creative block?

'How to fight creative block' is the next thing I write in the search line of my web browser, in order to find some inspiration. Inspiration sounds like the most logical place to start, when you are out of ideas. And scrolling through the pages, I see that possible reasons could be poverty, overwhelm, personal problems. But the block is already a overwhelming personal problem, this is a circular reference.

Let's focus on poverty then, a person can be poor in many ways, so it is a good starting point. How do you fight poverty? You don't. And even if you did, you would never win. It is not something to fight against, but something to transform, to turn inside out, so that the lining shines beneath the prudent rays of autumn sun.

Insurance

So, despite the utter lameness in finding the route cause of my writer's block, which in principle is the most important thing for settling insurance cases, I have the answer of 'how to deal with creative block' that is good enough for myself.

And sharing it, I need to get egocentric beyond my comfort zone, quoting one my own heroines, Ali from 'Faith', but I have said it already, I like to learn from all fictional characters, because they get in situations, I will never find myself into. What she said was: 'Inspiration is not a racing horse. Many artists go for quantity and soon their ideas wear out.'

So here comes the easy feminine conclusion on how to overcome creative blackouts. If no idea is there for you at any point of time, it is just not ready to show itself to you yet. The only thing that could be done to overcome creative block is...nothing. Do nothing, sit and wait. Don't force it, don't whip your imagination. Nothing really enjoyable will come out of it in this condition anyway. Let it wander off of to the most unexpected places and come back with a big bunch of idea, harvested in the fields, where imagination always walks alone.

And to end it up neatly, here comes a doodling walk of the imagination of the greatest book illustrator in the history of literature.