Reclaiming creativity
Mar. 3rd, 2013 12:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaneramosA new acquaintance in a fiction writing forum associated with Freelance Success mentioned a book, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, supposedly one of the best for writers dealing with creative blocks. That brought up some important thoughts I don't know whether I have ever actually written, recorded or spoken. For people here who have known me a long time, this may be especially meaningful.
In 2005 I started taking a new medication for anxiety and depression. It made me better, but I lost inspiration for writing fiction and poetry, practically anything. Since then I have worked to reclaim my creativity. Starting to write for magazines last year, working to deadline again after 17 years out of the field, I proved to myself I still have dedication and ability. I hope more fiction writing will follow. It involves relearning how to operate in an altered emotional landscape. When I was younger, writing kept me alive through the worst times. Now it is not an emotional imperative but a choice, a kind of moral act. "War of Art" makes sense to me.
In 2005 I started taking a new medication for anxiety and depression. It made me better, but I lost inspiration for writing fiction and poetry, practically anything. Since then I have worked to reclaim my creativity. Starting to write for magazines last year, working to deadline again after 17 years out of the field, I proved to myself I still have dedication and ability. I hope more fiction writing will follow. It involves relearning how to operate in an altered emotional landscape. When I was younger, writing kept me alive through the worst times. Now it is not an emotional imperative but a choice, a kind of moral act. "War of Art" makes sense to me.
