Traveling did it. I've been dealing with writer's block for months now. Ever since I got my new home and settled in, I couldn't think of a single thing to write about.
Writer's block is like insomnia. You want to write. You know you need to write. You're too tired to do anything but write, but the words just don't come out. You lie on your back and stare at the ceiling. You get up and walk around the house. You drink some hot chocolate. You drink half a bottle of rum. Nothing helps. You just walk in circles and go crazy with boredom waiting for the words to come. The next thing you know, it's morning, and you haven't slept or written or done anything else-just stayed up all night staring at your computer.
But as soon as I drove out of Comayagua, the words appeared. I left the base at Soto Cano a little past five in the afternoon. I passed Comayagua on the way to La Cieba, and right away I thought of dozen stories I could tell about that town. I'm sitting in a restaurant named Bongo's in Siguatapeque now. It's the closest thing Honduras has to Sanborn's or Denny's. My food is getting cold, and my hands are shaking because I can't write fast enough to keep up with my head. I think of subjects to write about when I reach Utila, little details to notice on the road. I suddenly know how to phrase a dozen or so anecdotes I've collected over the last few months. I even thought of a new character for the next Great American Novel I'm going to write someday.
Traveling is a trigger that kicks off my creative process, and if I ever want to be a real write, I'd better never settle down.
Well then yay for travel. Glad to see you writing again!
Posted by: Orion | November 30, 2005 at 05:43 PM