Writers' Block

(Via Oh Hello Friend)

Recently, a poet told me of a battle with what seems like a bad case of writers' block that has been running several months now. For a writer serious about your craft, this - I believe - is the ultimate torture.


It can be frustrating having a story inside of you that is trapped and wrestling to get out, but that just stops short when you lift your pen. Earlier this year, February to be exact, I had that problem. Determined to be a starving artist than to peddle my work, I set them aside in storage. So I went about my other passions. In fact, I went to a book launch (A Permanent Freedom by Curdella Forbes) and believe it or not, I fell beneath the drum of a drummer boy. Trust me, the melodious energy he hammered out of his hands left me sooooooo inspired. I had never experienced drumming like that. Better yet, I never really paid attention to the art of drumming before.


Point is, sometimes a story makes you restless but may not be mature enough to make its way to the page. Sometimes we may need to distance ourselves from the passion which fires up our writing. And then, sometimes we need to broaden our experiences and allow these to influence our sensibilities from which we write. Don't be afraid to feed off the energy of other artists and artforms. And that is why I have included again the picture above - so inspiring.