"You make me wanna write!"

I always feel like writing in the Fall. It's my favorite time of year. I think the slightest change in temperature makes me perky and excited, even nostalgic.

The Summer was unrelenting this year. High humidity and temps created a bad biscuit out of me. I fluffed up and got cooked, but then I just sat around all Summer and got stale. A bad biscuit is not worth eating, empty calories and a waste of time. Regardless of what food product I may have resembled, the result was a hardened floury puck which could never result (no matter how much honey I used) in any kind of creative production.

I'm an Earth sign, and I probably need some more water in my life to make my obstinate behavior a little more fluid. The stubborn me said, "Hey, this road block was my idea, so I will just stay here and break out a six pack until the road clears. I prefer not getting a damn thing done for 3 months!" Except it was my road block too, so no one else was going to clear it.

Honestly, it's not that I intended to accomplish nothing, who does that?

My argument could be that I was nourishing an idea, "You mean you can't see the novel that is inside my head? I'm just working on the plot a little more before I write it down!" When you are blocked, anything that involves much more than passive regurgitation is a struggle.

1st step: Acknowledgement. Summer is bad for my productivity. That's when I should be playing outside and dreaming and lying under the stars and forming creative ideas. I am from the Northwest and cooler weather makes me productive. So, if I am to stay in the South, I need to travel during the Summer or get a job doing something mundane, or just do house chores and go to the beach every day. As long as I don't spend another Summer depressed, beating myself up for not painting!

Why am I telling you all this? Because you probably have a season, too. It may even be a day of the week. You have a time of year of when you are better at that creative thing you do. When you are at your worst productive period, may I suggest that there is something else you could be doing that will fulfill you. Some seemingly mindless activity, even, that will give you a sense of satisfaction. Go pull weeds, or caulk, or paint baseboards, or vacuum the ceiling fan.

You know, these blocks may come when we need to refill our creative wells. So, the light tasks can help us to get some dreaming done!

If Fall is not your season, try some chores and spruce up your place. Then, go for a walk and let yourself dream. Swing on swings. Go to the movies. Go to a coffee house at midnight, see a live band, make good food and enjoy it. Discover a wine bar.

Plan ahead to do something 'else'.

The biscuit picture comes from a nice little blog I discovered today on how to make a great buttermilk biscuit! Visit Pinch My Salt for the recipe! (Don't forget the honey)

"You make me wanna write!"