Creativity Sink Remains Clogged

Rescue me from writer's block, Wonder Manatee!

I’m stuck, my friends. Stuck, I say. I’ve waited and waited, but in the last six months, no new novel premise has sprung fully formed, Athena-like, from my noggin. I’ve waited. I’ve taken notes. I’ve discussed ideas with my partner. I’ve listened to songs and read tons of other books. In spite of all this, my creative brainstorming process has gone something like this:

Gotta be romance. Fifty-fifty POV split. I like manatees. Dean Koontz’s latest book is so powerful; maybe I could write something similar. Maybe an updated fairy tale. The little mermaid, including some manatee friends? Not as preachy as Koontz, though. What about that book idea I've kicked around about the assassin-turned-history professor? The one with three sisters? Only 50-75K this time. Could a prisoner fall in love with her jailer? No, too Stockholmey. I have talent with dialogue, so maybe contemporary? Maybe a goddess character? Superheroes whose superpowers only activate in water, maybe around manatees?

Yeah, it’s not pretty.

Did I ever tell you all what inspired my last novel? Katy Perry’s “E.T.” Seriously. I was driving in L.A. and heard the song for the first time. Inspiration ignited. How would it feel to have angelic, supernatural creatures visit every night? What would they look like? Their nature? And thus was born The Tithe.

Alas, Katy Perry has not rescued me this time. Vastly overproduced, homogenized, and virtually creativity-free pop culture, you have surprisingly failed me.

I know my new genre. I know a few themes I want to incorporate. The only things missing are, you know, a plot and characters and stuff. And so this writer remains stymied while visions of manatees dance in her head. 

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 13, 2014 at 12:05 AM

    Lesleigh dear, I don't know if this will help, but as I think of you, I keep seeing a vision of a woman standing at the edge of the ocean with the wind in her hair and the moon (full or almost full) above. The sparkling waves seem to carry creatures in their wake. I see a knife. Is she a warrior? Did she just fight? Is she going to put herself through some ritual that will take her to another dimension or world?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elle HillJanuary 16, 2014 at 1:57 PM

      Frannie, that's both beautiful and evocative. It sounds like a lovely writing prompt. Let me see what I can do with it. Giant hugs.

      Delete

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