The "Wall" in the creative process, part 1

Now that introductions are over with, lets start to get to the meat of these potatoes...

So, as I'm working on the script for Skybound (don't worry if you haven't heard of it - If you stick around long enough you will) or should I say struggling on the script, I've been thinking a lot about an artist's perspective on his own work.  About just how fragile that creative spark that drives my hand can really be.

There need not be outside voices of any sort. Most often these voices are encouraging or at worst, unintentionally detrimental. No, what I'm talking about is how my own thoughts betray me. How the most powerful voice against my desire to create is the one in my own head.

This is always the case when we do something for our passion and not for money.

Like the marathon runner at mile twenty, we hit a wall. Not a physical one - an emotional one. Where we begin to question the very validity of the work itself. Is it even worth it?

I've read some few books on this idea, and have long thought on how to deal with it, but it is always there, and never gives up easily.

Not without a fight.

In that vein, I would like to present to you my current project:

A willful young woman with unusual mystical abilities is convicted of a crime she didn't commit, and is exiled.  But when a warmongering general seeking glory discovers the true nature of her power and threatens her with the destruction of her home, she must choose between giving up her freedom in the name of peace, or igniting a war in the name of freedom.

You will see this project constantly as I continue to work on it, and bring it to life.

As I stated above, I am struggling with the screenplay, but I am three-fourths of the way through that first draft - which will be a huge milestone. And, as you will see over time, I have a smidge of concept work already put together for it.

But I would like to open up my original thought for comment.

Everyone deals with self-doubt. But how do we overcome the link between our art, and our worth? How do we maintain the mind-set of completing our dream in the face of this self-recrimination?

I will follow up with my own thoughts on this in my next post, as well as discuss some of those that may appear below.