Have You Ever Been in a Coma?

When I was in college and had a paper due I would always have an emotional breakdown. It never failed.  I would sit down at my computer, stare at the blank screen, and then start to bawl my eyes out.  Even if I was prepared with some handwritten work or an outline, I would always cry.  It was mental, all self imposed pressure.

Funny thing is I almost always got a return grade of A. One time I got a B, but that teacher was super hard!  She expected the very best from us and I wanted to give that.  At least she loved the Frankenstein picture I submitted with the paper.

This past week I felt a similar pressure with the making of this Wedding Dress, only I havent cried. Instead for a few days my mind completely shut down. My creativity had fallen into a coma. For days I would walk into my sewing room, look at all the pattern pieces, wonder what I had to do next, draw a blank, then walk out. I would try every hour or so, but nothing.  My brain wouldn't respond.

Finally, I heard my muse and the voices quietly chatting, nursing the incubation of the dress construction process.   I got very silent.  I had to know what they were saying. I wrote out the "to do" list of what they were working out in my head.  Using that helped me jump back in and chug along to get (sort of) back on track. I'm still about 1 week behind where I wanted to be, but that still puts me ahead 3 weeks ahead of the 'due date'.

When I draw a blank on creativity I allow things like this to happen (HAHA!):

I suspect now that I am older part of my process for overcoming any sort of creative coma is cleaning.  Either that or I just haven't reached the breaking point of crying.

It's weird.  I have a lot of work ahead of me. I feel the 100% anxiety at the same time that I feel the 100% confidence that I will complete this dress when I want and how I want. Even with all of life's distractions.

I am shooting for an A.  So I'm going to end this post here and get to work!  Here's to hoping I don't run into another wall..

If you've ever been in a creative coma, writers block, whatever you wanna call your stump, what do you do to get through it?