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2008-01-30 - 2:23 p.m.

Once again, I've wanted to write something yesterday, but something else came up. I'm not going to specify the reason here, but it was enough to completely destroy my focus again. It sucks for most writers.
Most of us are already familiar with its common name. The writer's block. Some call it 'mood swings' (and it turns out that not only women with PMS/PMT tend to have it. Ha!) It's like there's a hurricane inside our brains, shadowing our sense of creativity. Many of us say it's because we're already too busy with real life. Unfortunately, once we find our free time, we're already too exhausted from our recent activities in life. Or worse, we're caught up with our own emotional issues that --- somehow --- leave us unable to even scribble a word or two.
"Mood swings isn't an excuse," claimed Andrea Hirata, a nationally successful Indonesian author of "Laskar Pelangi" (The Rainbow Soldiers). "Once you have your strong will, you must do all you can to maintain and nothing should ever beat that."
Well, what if we do have our strong will, but our writings still come out...unpleasant? My best friend Tiger once complained about not being able to complete one of his musical compositions. (He's a musician.) Whenever he tried to come up with a verse, it always sounded similar to other already popular songs he knows. Those were the hardest times for him and his creativity.
What did I tell him? Well, I suddenly remembered what I read about the band Creed. (Too bad they broke up.) Lead-singer Scott Stapp told the media that --- in order to create fresh, powerful songs --- the band always spent about three months without listening to any music. That way, they could concentrate a lot without the interference of old, familiar tunes and lyrics in their heads. I thought that was a pretty catchy advice (although still, it's easier said than done.)
Did he really follow that advice? I don't know. I never ask again. It's all up to him. After all, I just wanted to be a helpful friend.
Then, what about me? Perhaps, I shouldn't write this for too long now. Maintaining my energy is very important. Finding my free time without feeling too exhausted to do anything more is quite challenging these days.
But could I stop reading and watching anything for a while, just until my new writing is successfully produced? And could I also avoid listening to soundtracks which movies I've watched before, so their old plots wouldn't alter my creativity process?
And will it work? Good question.

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