The Secret to Writer’s Block: Misfit Inspiration

 

Guest Post by

Sam Muller

About a week ago, I lost agora. Not the place but the word. It was there in my mind, blinking like a distant star but I couldn’t name it.

After a few seconds of trying, I moved on. Left a space for the elusive word and went on writing. One of my dogs, Kangy, came for a kiss and a handshake. I spent a few minutes with her, went out for a mug of water, and was ambling around when AGORA returned in capitals, no longer a distant star but a bright shining sun.

I do most of my writing in the night or early hours of the morning when the house is quiet and one can hear even the gentlest breeze. When a word vanishes in the night or a sentence refuses to flow, I turn around and stare at the sleeping dogs. Dogs do most everything with a sense of abandonment. Sleeping is the same. If you are a dog-lover, there’s something deeply relaxing about watching a sleeping dog. As you study the soft shapes and the gentle movements, the truant returns.

There are deeper abstentions. Currently, I am nearing the end of my second novel, People of Dust, the sequel to my first novel, I will Paint the Night. I need at the most another 10,000 words till completion. I know the ending in detail. But I can’t find the words. They simply won’t come. Maybe it’s the anxiety about my first novel which is coming out on August 31. Maybe it’s just the new story not wanting to end. I’ve lived with it since last December. Perhaps it does not want to yield its dominance over my mind.

So I’ve set it aside. Instead of working on a couple of half-written short stories, I’ve taken a break from writing fiction. The garden needs care. The dogs always need cosseting. My to-be-read shelf is nearly three-quarters full. I have a cross-stitch pattern that has to be finished. And thanks to You Tube I’ve discovered a whole new world of music, via National Arab Orchestra, music soothing and arousing at the same time.

As I listen, I’m reminded of how magical music is in its unrivalled ability to reach across time and space and touch you in ways you never thought possible. I’m not over my writer’s block yet, but I’m moving back into the story slowly. One of my characters will be a musician (as well as a witch) and I’ve decided to include an impromptu orchestral-type performance towards the end of the story. I don’t worry about the continued absence of words. I know the words will come, on the wings of a song, the sonorous snore of a dog or the deep green shoot rising from the ground, uninvited but welcome.

I first experienced a proper writer’s block when I lost a close family member. Once the funeral was over I found myself unable not only to write but also read. I’ve heard of writer’s

block, knew a couple of friends who experienced it; but a reader’s block was another matter.

It was a terrifying experience. I opened book after favorite book, but the words refused to connect, to engage. I had always believed that reading would never fail me – until on that dreary rain-washed November day it did.

The state of nothingness lasted over a month. What helped me across that triple mire was a rescue puppy. Her resilience, her ability to get over whatever she has experienced, her joy in life and living, her very presence took me out of myself. I stopped worrying and busied

myself with her. Slowly the words returned, as if they had never been away. (I wrote a story about a rescue-dog eventually which was published in a Sans Press anthology:

To recap, when words hide, don’t seek them. Do something that relaxes you or makes you happy. When your mind is at rest, when your heart is rejoicing, the words will return.

Want to learn more about Sam Muller and his works?

I will Paint the Night – blurb: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCPS2CT5

Links to the author’s published stories: https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/fiction-all/myths-legends-and-fairy-tales/hima/

https://apparitionlit.com/once-upon-a-night/

https://truancymag.com/2020/01/25/music-of-the-world-by-sam-muller/

https://criticalread.org/art-is-essential-april-2021/4/

https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/features/reviews-and-interviews/

I hope that these ideas help you to break through! 

Disclaimer: This post is exclusively the words and views of the guest blogger and do not necessarily represent the views of Heather L. Barksdale. The story featured has not been read or reviewed by Heather’s bookshelf.

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