ManicDDaily

Friday!  Finally.  The boy not in the balloon is safe and Where The Wild Things Are is primarily in movie theaters.

For those of you who like to do creative projects (write, paint, write some more), and have limited freedom and focus, now is the time to get going.  (School has started, Halloween is not yet here, Thanksgiving/Christmas are still genuinely still far away.)

My primary immediate advice: take the time.   Make an appointment with yourself, for yourself, time for your work.  Schedule a slot in what may otherwise seem an inpenetrable weekend—10-1, Saturday–your work time.  Don’t just pencil it in;  write it in indelible ink.  Then, don’t allow a conflict; don’t take on a chore; don’t slip into an accidental cancellation, don’t cut yourself short.  (It may be best not to tell others what that Saturday appointment is for.  You may also need to turn off your internet access.)

My secondary advice, before starting and before turning off your internet:  check out the series of posts I wrote in July and August about writer’s block.  Although these were specifically about “blocking writer’s block”, many of them can apply to other types of creative blocks as well, particularly those aspects related to taking yourself seriously.  (These posts can be found by clicking the “category” on the side called Writer’s Block: some of the ones categorized under Stress may also apply, especially to less writerly blocks.)

If you have writer’s block (or some other creative block), I can’t guarantee that these will help you.  But you may find something useful. Reading them may also give you that one more little justifiable delay (ha ha!), which (it is to be hoped) may serve as a springboard into a wellspring of creative flow.

Good luck!

(If none of that works, you can always go to Where the Wild Things Are, or check out another children’s animal book, 1 Mississippi, by Karin Gustafson, at the link to the side.)