creativity

[vesuvius]

I thought it might be interesting to hear people's definition of a creative block. Is there a certain length of time of inactivity or is it a state of mind you can identify straight away?

Anyone suffer with SAD (seasonal affective disorder - if it exists) and does that affect your creativity?

What affect does writing a poem have on you?

I personally get very exciteable when I'm creative in any way. And this time of year it's strange because I think the dark and cold does affect my energy levels. So I'm very up and down through extreme moods at the moment (not quite in a bipolar way - that's a discussion on it's own really, though feel free to speak of any experience in this).

I'm wholly interested in all of the above though am aware there's a lot of questions!

[kozmikdave]

Gidday mate

Can only speak for myself...

I think I am creating most of the time, not always wonderful, but still creative. When I'm in the car or cycling, I am usually singing some emerging creation or just playing with words in my head.

If there is nothing coming to the surface and you feel it is not happening for you, it might be because your brain is working through stuff that you have embedded. You shouldn't have to wait long.

A good yay to get yourself stared again if it seems to have dried up, is to write a sonnet, or some other poetic form that forces you to put words together in set ways. You get so caught up in the process, you forget you were blocked.

I always imagined people in colder climates had a better chance of being creative. In the north, we always played sport and did a lot of outdoor things. (No time to write while hurtling through the scrub on a bored out 250.) In the south, they sit around the fire with pencil/guitar in hand, pipe of something, and think, don't they?

Being creative should be exciting. Most of us drive our families to distraction when we have created something we are proud of. That's the way it should be. Then you post it and everyone else is so excited about what they just wrote, they miss all the points of brilliance and you can feel let down. No worries. Off to write the next one. It will drive them insane.

I like to think I am creative when I'm feeling cut by something. I tend to write down lots of thoughts on it, even complete song verses and if it is not ready to emerge, it stays in the folder for anything up to a year or two. That gives my head time to sort out feelings and straighten my thoughts.

Hope that has been helpful
Dave

[Robert]

Vesuvius. Join the club. But worry not, we are not alone. Tony Harrison can't stand English winters and blames it for his bouts of depression. He hops to and fro from Greece to avoid it.

[cameron]

Over the years I've noticed a clear pattern in my own creativity:

August - December - lacklustre/zero/zilch

Jan - July- rockin' (well, 3-4 poems and a sitcom if I'm lucky)

However, my muse has always been parsimonious.

C