A Remedy for the Writer's Blues ~ by Sharon Dunn

Every writer at every stage experiences low points and seasons of doubt. Even after five books, I have moments when I wonder if I was meant to write. Sometimes those moments turn into days and the stresses of life make it hard to write. I found a weapon to combat the self-doubt in a surprising place.

An evening of channel surfing landed me at a PBS American Masters special about Gene Kelly. My impression of Gene Kelly was that he was successful, a true performer and a great dancer. The documentary, however, revealed that like all people engaged in creative endeavors, Kelly faced setbacks. He did not have his first hit movie until he was 30, well past the time of a dancer’s prime. Ten years later, he had made his last hit movie. He was a child of an alcoholic father, lost his wife to cancer, and had constant struggles with the studio in his attempts to take dance in new directions. I’m just guessing here, but he probably had his own share of doubt and wondering if he was meant to be a dancer.

Kelly so desired perfection in his art form that he spent hours rehearsing a short dance sequence for Summer Stock in which he ripped newspaper with his feet. As I watched that dance sequence, which amounted to a few minutes on the screen, and listened to the voice over that talked about the long rehearsals that went into making those few minutes memorable, I started to rethink my outlook on writing.

I remembered hearing about Fred Astaire’s work ethic and perfectionism. Desire to create a great number drove Astaire to rehearse the tap dancing sequences in Top Hat until his feet bled. I watched the footage of Kelly using a newspaper as a dance partner; I felt motivated to work toward excellence with my writing. The vision of the perfect story, not my successes or my failures, would keep at the keyboard. If Fred could dance until his feet bled, I could write until my fingers bled.

Then the documentary showed clips from my favorite Gene Kelly number, his signature Singing in the Rain. I watched Gene kick water up, dance with an umbrella and allow rain from the gutter to spill over his head. I saw none of the setbacks and long rehearsals that must have gone into creating that performance. The struggles he endured were not etched in his choreography. He communicated excellence in his craft and pure joy. Here was a man who had found what he was good at and perfected his gift to the point where he made it look effortless. The exhilaration of his is dancing was infectious and inspiring. The joy expressed in that song is the same joy I feel when I write something that matches the vision in my head.

A favorite writer’s work came to mind and I marveled at how beautifully she shed light on the human condition or amazed me with an original metaphor. That writer may have spent hours working and reworking a phrase. She may have had tragedy and stress that made it hard to find the time and clear thinking required to write. I saw none of that on the page, only the beauty of someone who delighted in playing with language.

My sense of direction was renewed. I am a writer. This is what God designed me to do. Discouragement will come. It is the nature of the creative process. The next time one of those low points hits, I will close my eyes and picture Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the rain. It will make me smile and motivate me to keep writing.

More about this author:

Sharon Dunn’s second book Sassy Cinderella and the Valiant Vigilante, part of the Ruby Taylor mysteries, was voted Book of the Year by American Christian Fiction Writers. Book Two in her Bargain Hunters mysteries, Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear features a group of coupon clipping sleuths. Read more about Sharon and her humorous who-dun-its at www.sharondunnbooks.com.