Artistic block (or what to do next?)

So I’m guessing that most of you know what writer’s block is (that feeling of not knowing what to write about next). I used to think that it was only something that author’s were struck down with. Then I came to realise that it also affects bloggers, in fact anyone who writes about anything. Then I figured why should it only affect writers, why can it not affect everyone who creates something? And the penny dropped…

I’ve known for a while that I’ve had writer’s block with this blog (and others that I used to contribute to). I got to the point where my postings felt like they were just inane ramblings, and I decided that there was no point in me continuing to write them. Sure I came back every now and then and tried to draft some posts (and I was always happy to approve comments – thank you all), but very few of these drafts ever saw the light of day. And that’s because I wasn’t happy with them. The subject, the content, well pretty much everything. So they never made it past the draft stage, and moving forwards, I won’t miss them.

So why is this post entitled artistic block, rather than writer’s block? Well, I had a eureka moment not that long ago. I realised that there were other things that I was struggling to draw inspiration from. Food being one. I was stuck in a rut of cooking the same things over and over. Photography was the second. Anyone who knows the face behind the words knows that I really enjoy my photography, but recently my camera has been gathering dust, as I just don’t have the impetus to get it out of the bag and go hunting for something to photograph. Even subjects and genres that I love working with no longer held the same appeal (in fact some of the photos I’d taken were downright awful). And that got me to thinking that surely any creative types must have that feeling every now and then that they just don’t know what to do next. How to get out of the humdrum of doing the same thing, and not feeling like they are really enjoying their creative works.

So where does this bring me? Well I thought it was a good place to start the rebirth of my writing. Has my view on photography changed? Well probably not. I still know what I can do well, and I know that it’s currently a slump that I need to work through. Will I give up? Definitely not. The same with cooking. I just need to find the right inspiration and everything will be fine. Hopefully this will be the first step on a road to change, and that before long, I’ll be writing regularly again, enjoying my photography, and cooking new food (there was even talk a while back about having a food related blog – maybe time to dig that one out and give it a go? – you know who you are!!). Of course this could be the first and last post for a long time, in which case, sorry for this inane rambling that did make it through to these pages…