Writing advice from....actors?

For a week or so, winter has made Pennsyl Pointe an even more perfect place to write. Snow softened the sound, cold weather made things cozy, and my new French press produced some wonderful coffee. Why then, was it so impossible to put words on paper?

I tried to limit phone and email interruptions. Still, my list of writing ideas sat abandoned and I started hating myself for not using these winter days to write something really good. Then one night, I saw a televised interview with John Cusack, the film actor. A young actor asked Cusack why it's so common to get blocked at the moment of performance. Cusack, quoting ideas from Carl Jung, said that sometimes when it's time to perform, the conscious self does not want to give up control or experience the vulnerability at the core of the creative process. The self -- or ego -- then sets up barriers to block creative expression. To defeat the ego and its blocks, an actor must make friends with the unconscious -- or shadow self -- which is the true author of creativity. The same notion can also be applied to writing.

Like most creative people, I learned this long ago. But my world had gotten a little too busy and I was treating my creative work like an item on life's grocery list. The imagination really needs room to play -- or an incentive to jump higher than the ego. Even after 10 years of professional writing, it's easy to forget this truth and think you can boss your unconscious mind around.

Taking Mr. Cusack's advice to heart, I've begun looking at each creative writing session like a theater piece. Before I raise the curtain, I offer my shadow self a little treat. Sometimes it's one of those great cups of coffee, but it's paired with a moment of silence or some music. And, okay, sometimes it might be piece of chocolate. After all, the creative self is a lot like a child. Once you coax that little imp to come out and play, the writing flows like...like...a runny nose on a winter day.