The creative spark is something that I don’t think I’ve ever naturally possessed. I’ve always had to work hard when it comes to creative expression. I’ll sit there doggedly second guessing myself and starting over and over, while some other person flies through without trouble, laying down something that’ll leave me envious for days to come. It’s something I’ve sporadically thought about all the way through my childhood and even still now occasionally devote time to. In my younger years especially it angered me that I exhibited an aptitude for academia, but showed no signs of any real…. what’s the word… talent? I considered myself as the boy who could walk through exams with absolute answers, but  would instantly fail when craft or creativity became involved.

Nowadays, of course, I’m ever-so-lightly wiser and realise that I still had a fairly good deal. I can do the straight and narrow with my eyes closed so, if all else fails, I should still be able to get somewhere. But through it all, I can’t help looking over at the truly talented kids and yearning to swap places. Maybe I’m wrong to do so? Maybe they’re looking back at me and thinking the same, and we could swap but would find that actually it’s all rubbish, the grass is greenest on neither side, and we shouldn’t have bothered. Who’s to say, really?

Cutting to the chase, inspiration is something I’ve tried hard to find over the years. If I have to be honest, I can’t think of too many times where I’ve actually found it. But lo and behold – here I sit, alone in the house, listening to The Distance to Here by Live and I feel as inspired as ever. I have it blasting quite loudly, resulting in every little nook and cranny of the craftsmanship becoming so… clear. This all started when I finally managed to break through the initial stages of a feature script; detailed in my previous entry. Since then I’ve been feeling really good, positive, and creative. I’m listening to music not just for pleasure, but with a critical eye – picking out particular bass lines, lyrics and flicks of guitar work that I find interesting. I don’t feel mentally blocked. It won’t last, I’m sure; but while it’s here I’d like to say that I’m bloody well loving it.

Over the past week I haven’t worked on my feature script as, instead, I’ve been working on another project which has been great. Working alongside another writer is an interesting experience, and one I’d love to do again in the future. There’s a healthy element of competition, and it’s great to bounce ideas off another person instead of a brick wall. Things moved along with wonderful pace, and a first draft has been finished. The second should begin in due course.

Once the writing is done there, I intend to go back to my own script and continue with that. I also have a few other ideas bobbing around in my head, and then of course I’m still very interested in heading down to London in search of work experience. As I’ve said before, the summer has only really just started but already I feel I’ve achieved a lot. There should be a lot more to come as well. As of right now I’m just vibing to some music, and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Tell me, how is your summer going?