Okay, I'm Blocked...Now What?

If you read Tuesday's post, I complained that another year has passed and I'm not happy with my publishing progress, like I complain most years around my birthday.  By the way, it was an amazing birthday.  Thanks you so much to everyone who sent me happy birthday wishes.  You're all wonderful!!  Anyways, it turned out to be the best birthday gift I could have given myself, being critical that is.  It finally got me to admit that I'm going through the dreaded "writer's block," which I prefer to call "the funk."

Hey, we all go through it at least once in our careers, right?  For me this is trip number two through the thick gunky dark bottleneck of writer's block.  I didn't recognize it at first because I've still been writing, which is why I feel this is more of a funk than a block.  It's the low number of new words and frustration with editing that were the first clues I ignored.  The second clue is the pages of The Courier that are sitting in the word processor, ready for release on Twitter and the website, but I just can't bring myself to copy and paste it in.  Third clue, doing lots of research for Bloodleggers and avoiding connecting with my main character, Miss Regina Todd. Oh, yeah, and there's the whole wanting to quit thing I've written about in the Bloodleggers and The Courier blogs.

So what now? I asked myself before I rolled out of bed yesterday.

First thing I did was pull one of my favorite books off the shelf that I keep handy for such emergencies.  It hasn't seriously come off the shelf for ten plus years though. The Artist's Way got me through a pretty "funky" rough spot back then.  All it took was a quick read through the introduction and I realized that I have more than writer's block.  This is also a spiritual disconnect.  This quote alone in the margin of the book spoke to me and confirmed it.

"I myself do nothing.  The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me."

--William Blake

I don't want to go into too many details on the spiritual disconnect today, but after reading the introduction to The Artist's Way, I needed some spiritual guidance.  So I went searching for the nearest spiritual book I could find, which around here could be connected to about any religion.  Beside me was Jefferson's Bible and The Koran and neither were quite appropriate for what I was seeking out.   So I walked into the living room and found a quick read, The Essence of Happiness, A Guidebook for Living by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D.  This is a tiny little book my sister gave me years ago.  It sits on an end table in our living room between a statue of Jesus and The Buddha.  I try to read this book whenever I feel my life path is being distracted by anger or other negative emotions.  I read it, and to make a long story even longer, I found this passage inspiring.

On a personal level, being open and sharing things can be very useful.  Because of this nature I can make friends more easily, and it's not just a matter of knowing people and having a superficial exchange but of really sharing my deepest problems and suffering.  And it's the same thing when I hear good news, I immediately share it with others.  So, I feel a sense of intimacy and connections with my friends.

So I've decided to share my journey in the midst of my "funk" here in my blog.  Mostly it'll be connected with 12 weeks of following The Artist's Way, which is also, as the title states, "a spiritual path to higher creativity."  I'll be sharing lots of the negative, lots of the positive, and lots of spiritual talk that will be connected to about every religion and philosophy on Earth, past and present.  It all depends on where The Universe and God decide take me. 

I don't want to make this just about me though.  If any other writers out there are experiencing what I am, and you want to pick up a copy of The Artist's Way and join me, let me know.  I'd love to include links to your blog or make my blog available to you if you need a place to vent.

And so the journey begins...