This is an exercise I did today to break out of a prolonged writer's block. It is very random, read it without looking for sense in it.

I close my eyes and try to imagine myself in a space. The space extends to infinity but right in front of me is a formidable wall. It is also very dark inside this wall. First order of business is to find light, so I can see my surroundings well.

I look around for something, anything that can be used as accelerant or fuel and I find a small pouch of oil. Some rags or wood or both would be great right about now. I remember the Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall as I start looking for said items and I find an easier alternative is to use the greatest tool I have at my disposal- my mind. After all, this scenario has been drawn up by me and therefore it listens to me.

So, is the wall metaphorical? Or is it just annoying? Instead of breaking it, should I try to find a door? One does not simply break the Great Wall of China for example. One appreciates it. I see you noticed the Tolkien reference there. Good. We can be friends. (When will I stop making typos? I wrote fried!)

Back to the wall. Let us describe it. It is long and it has paint chipped off it. So definitely not the Great Wall of China. Now that that’s settled, what else is known about the wall? Is there a hole in it somewhere that I can use to escape?

So, the purpose of this exercise is to write again. I’m sure my block is temporary and that soon enough I’ll be back to hammering keys on a word processor but at the moment I am unable to do so. Ergo this.

But as said earlier, is the wall metaphorical? Maybe the way to break out of the wall is to just stimulate my mind with stuff, which is why I chose to watch the movie The Man Who Sold His Skin. It was fantastic and it’s hard to say what category it would fall under.

A tattoo artist convinces a Syrian refugee to sell the skin on his back and he becomes a sensation. Meanwhile the love of his life marries a man from the Syrian embassy in Belgium and they are both in Brussels- one in a museum and the other in bed with an embassy official. Fortunately, all turns out well in the end when the artist helps the model get back on his feet and although there is a MASSIVE twist at the end we should have seen it coming anyway!

I also have a discussion on Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart tomorrow which I am looking forward to. Something about the master of the macabre calls to me and I know that although I don’t know the members in the club beyond social media I can cope well

And

My writer’s block has vanished. Here come the ideas!