Speaking at this
year’s TED conference, Elisabeth Gilbert talked about how she handled writer’s
block (this account is from the Wired Epicenter site:)
“…when she was in the midst of writing Eat, Pray Love and fell into a pit of despair when she felt blocked. She said aloud to whatever entity it was that usually helped her but was on furlough that day that if the book didn't turn out to be good it wasn't going to be entirely her fault since she was putting everything she had into the project. ‘So if you want [the book] to be better, then you've got to show up and do your part of the deal,’ she told it. ‘But I'll keep writing anyway, because that's my job. And I'd like the record to report today that I showed up.’”
She told how in the deserts of North Africa, during long dance rituals, once in a while one of the dancers would be imbued with something transcendental and the others would start to chant, “Allah, Allah, Allah”—which over centuries was changed to Ole, Ole, Ole, and is still called out at bullfights and to flamenco dancers.
She concluded: “Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it. If your job is to dance, then do your dance. If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment for your efforts, then Ole. And if not, do your dance anyhow. Ole to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.”
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