Becky – many thanks for your advice as well! I haven’t read Cameron’s book and can only imagine what a week without “the outside media world” could do to me. It may be worth a try…

One of the things she suggests that has worked for me is a one-week ban on tv, movies, the internet (except when necessary at work), music, and reading.

The reading one suprised me, as I wouldn’t think of it at all in the same “time-suck” category that those others can be. Her rationale, though, is that for creative types, all of the above activities are about taking in somebody’s else’s creative output. Not that those are inherently bad activities, but she argues that if you’re feeling blocked, you may be using them to distract yourself, filling up the empty space instead of giving yourself the time and energy to make something of your own. She says something like, “after two days without these stimuli, you may find yourself so bored that in desperation you paint a chair or pick up that embroidery you’d forgotten about.” I’ve done this a couple times when I was really stuck, and sure enough, it worked!

Illustrating kids’ stories sounds fun! You wouldn’t have to wait for someone to write you a story, either. Could you find a story you like and draw your own pictures? Or adapt/abridge a story for slightly older kids (like, say, Harry Potter)? Not to publish, of course, but just to feel like you were getting the juices flowing again?

Good luck and keep us posted!

I do find that taking off the pressure to be creative, or giving yourself plenty of time against creative deadlines helps me. I also like to keep a list of ideas for blogging on Google docs. so I can capture them as they come.

Another thought- If you just aren’t creative, why not support someone who is?