Writer’s Itch

Blink, blink, blink.

The mouse cursor seemed to taunt me while I stare at the perfectly empty computer monitor. For many,the difficult part of writing is the very beginning, when they’re staring at a blank sheet of paper… in my case, it’s the blank screen.  There’s an electric hum of anticipation in my fingers while it rest on the keyboard but it can’t find the words to type.

Here goes my confession…

I’ve been a lurker for some time. For the past few months, I hit a creative slowdown. You know that bizarre moment when your muse took a vacation  and you don’t know when she will get back? Yes, that moment.

Being muse less can be scary and out of it, self-doubt is born. I wonder if I can still stay up at midnight and scribe forlornly in my lonely room.Pushing things has always caused me more difficulty in the end. And so instead of escape, I let the feeling pass. When I have come up against this, the urge to create again comes from the oddest places, so I learned to sit back and let inspiration come in it’s own time.

I think all artists go through these peaks and valleys. Sometimes, you also have to take courage to go IN and be your own muse. To explore the nook and cranny of your heart and let it take you to far flung places you’ve never dreamed of.

Sometimes, you just have to take the leap of faith and go for it. To accept that dry spells are part of the magical life you live and you can always find the potion to create again.

Well-known writing teacher Natalie Goldberg says, “Just keep your hand moving and write!”

…and so I did. Let my hands do the talking.