A Philosophy of Writers Block
The Source of Creativity for Authors and Short Story Writers
Sep 18, 2009
Writer’s block should really be called creativity block. Any strategy for overcoming writer’s block needs to acknowledge the source of creativity. It is not the rational mind, that personal inboard computer that shuffles words and ideas around, tidies prose and identifies spelling errors. It is the subconscious mind that must get credit for those flashes of inspiration that create living characters and great plots out of thin air.
It is, however, possible to even go beyond that assertion to suggest that creativity lies outside the mind altogether. Some pragmatic readers might reject the idea, but this article argues that the true source of inspiration is the creative principle in the universe. Furthermore, what is commonly known as writers block, is really writer block.
Writers Block or Writer Block?’
Writer’s block implies that something is being done to the poor writer. In truth, the writer is inadvertently applying the block. Thus, writer block is a more telling term, as it indicates that a barrier has gone up to prevent the flow of creativity from the universal source of newness and creative activity. That barrier goes up when the writer tries to go it alone, and attempts to force the story by brainwork. The brain becomes busy with worry, puzzles and problem-solving that creativity just can’t find an opening.
Picture the control tower at a busy airport. There’s a n Airbus 380 loaded with VIPs anxious to land, but, for some unknown reason, hundreds of light aircraft that should be off in some minor airfield are clogging up airspace. The A380 has no alternative but to go into a holding pattern, until a landing path is cleared. Similarly, with creative writing, creativity techniques must always be aimed at removing these nuisance barriers.
The True Source of Creativity
Christians, and other Theists, are familiar with the expression “All love comes from God”. It is surely not too great a stretch of plausibility to suggest that, in some way, all creativity comes from the Creator. For those uncomfortable with what might sound a little too Biblical, let’s broaden the term to Creative Principle, a non-personified spirit or creative force that inspires all life, multiplicity and Becoming. Thus, creativity is a manifestation of the un-manifested Creative Force. Writers are creators when they allow that Force to manifest itself through their writing craft, just as dancers create a dance by allowing the Creative Force to use their bodies, or artists allow the Creative Force to borrow their paintbrushes.
Writers and The Muses
It is not surprising that the ancient Greeks, anxious to explore and explain phenomena, tried to define this Creative Principle or Creative Force, as it manifested itself in music, dance, drama, writing and other art forms. Their solution was to identify avatars, personifications or representatives of the Creative Force − goddesses, if you will − known as the Muses. For centuries, writers have referred, either seriously or jokingly, to their Muse. Acknowledging the presence of the Creative Principle in the production of creative writing might not be such a bad thing: perhaps writers do need to learn how to invoke their Muse.
This philosophical excursion into the nature of so-called writer’s block could point the way to choosing writing prompts and other creativity techniques that really work – techniques that avoid thinking out problems and concentrate on de-cluttering the mind so that inspiration can beam in from the Creative Principle of the universe.
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