Besieged by a bottomless inbox

Earlier this winter it was clear that my plate was full. No, it was overflowing with projects!

Luckily, I had booked a trip to Puerto Rico to attend a writer’s retreat. But honestly, even planning my flights and packing my bags felt like just another set of things on my to-do list.

In fact, as I loaded up my suitcase, I was feeling so besieged by my bottomless inbox, that I decided not to pack my laptop and take an old-fashioned notebook and some pens instead. I’d have my smartphone though, so if I really needed to check my mail or search the Internet, I could. But part of me wanted to leave even that behind and disconnect completely from the demands of the outside world for a week.

Clearly, I needed this retreat. But I wasn’t so sure about the writing part.  It felt like all the writing I’d been doing for my website, blog, e-newsletters, and classes had dried up all the words I had in my head.

So, when I arrived at the retreat I was pleased to see that our teacher had included in our information packets, along with our daily schedule, group guidelines, and poems to inspire us, an article titled “Writer’s Block: Variations on a Superstition” by Sarah Ruhl. The first paragraph caught my attention:

“Writer’s block, I have always maintained, it’s not real. It is an invention. A self-inflicted wound. A chimera. After all, every time we fall asleep we write stories in our dreams.”

I certainly couldn’t argue with that, so I read on. One of the first suggestions Ruhl offers blocked writers is to think of their favorite landscape and travel to it. Reading these words while seated on a wicker deck chair looking out at the Caribbean-blue sea, I realized I’d already taken the first step.

I put the article down and drank in the warmth and beauty of the island.

So, it wasn’t a dream exactly that helped me refresh and reconnect with my creativity, but the dreamy beaches, the riffling of the palm fronds overhead, and the friendship of the 16 other writers on the retreat worked their magic. And sure enough, the words began to flow.

I’d filled half a notebook by the time the week was half over. Then, while disembarking from a boat to wade the last few yards to a deserted beach where our group would be spending the afternoon, I slipped and dropped my beach bag into the water. Everything got drenched: my towel, sunscreen, flipflops—and my phone! Despite my best efforts to dry it out in the sunshine, it was dead. I consoled myself with the fact that the drafts of my new poems were safe and dry back in my room, and I did my best to reconcile to the rest.

Later that evening I finished reading Ruhl’s article. The seventh suggestion she offered for battling writer’s block was this:

“Turn your phone off or put it in the mail and send to yourself.”

I picked up my pen and scribbled a note in the margin: “Or drop it in the ocean!”

Dreamy drafts

When it comes to Writers Block, dreams really are your friend. When you write down a dream you’ve also written a rough draft of a poem or story.

Try this:

Give your dream a title, and write the dream in the third person (substituting I with she or he) or even the second person (you). Edit the text lightly, taking out any unnecessary words—or expand it by inserting details from all five senses…and see if you might have the makings of a poem or story. Either way, enjoy the pleasure of engaging with your dreamy imagination and the ease with which you just battled the blank page—and won!

Connect with your creative, dreamy imagination

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