Hi, I find that most of my ideas just keep floating around in my head and I find it hard to grab them and put them to paper or paint.. My very at the moment necessary day job is very demanding and keeps me from finding time to wind down and get in the right rythym.. So I feel blocked and of course slightly frustrated.. So my question is how do you deal with this and how can I gradually unblock myself to become the sole artist I so badly crave and desire?
Not so sure you're going to like the answer to this. When I had to decide how to make a living after the kids I did have the option of completing my education and getting a real career. I opted to take a simple day job that is physically tiring but not mentally stressful so I could continue novel writing. Sadly, someone noticed my previous experience and I was reassigned to a more difficult role. Poo! But I have a really understanding manager (who's read my book!) and will always give me shifts around my children and writing commitments. Will your job bend around writing in anyway or will it always demand the lion's share of you?
The next step is to find a way to change your mood after work so you can write. I still struggle with this and a lot of the time I just wait until my days off, but I do have a routine. I play games on facebook for a few mintues and then play a couple of games of solitaire. With the right background music playing that quite often puts me in the right place. What I've also noticed is if I play music when I'm at my most productive and then play the same music when I'm struggling, that can help. It doesn't usually matter what the music is and I tend to ignore it anyway, but unconsciously it places me back in the right mindset.
Either way you are essentially working two jobs so don't beat yourself up on the bad days. Work out how many hours per week you think you can reasonably give to novel writing given your day job and try to stick to it. If you suceed you are working harder than most full-time novelists and can be very proud of yourself.