Radio3! Adam Saikaley here, filling in for Meg Wilcox this weekend. Meg and I work in the same office at CBC Ottawa, but I produce a weekly classical music show on Radio 2 called Tempo. I spend my days spinning tracks by Bach and Beethoven, and then I play in bands like Silkken Laumann and The Acorn in the evenings.
Now for today and tomorrow I've got a fine mix of independent Canadian tracks on the show, including one by Eight and a Half, a three-piece made of members from Broken Social Scene and The Stills.
Normally I try not to read too much into band names, but I’m making an exception here because I think Eight and a Half will lead to a fruitful discussion on something that we can all benefit from.
The name comes from Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, a film about artistic pressure and crippling writer's block, aka the worst feeling in the world. I know all you Radio3 listeners have that creative spirit within, so I'm guessing you've all experienced writer's block at some point in your life. Maybe you're going through it right now... so why don’t we pool together our collective experiences here and help each other out with tips on how to overcome writer's block.
Have you ever experienced writer's block? What were you trying to create when you were stricken with this illness? What did you do to get out of your torturous writer's block?
If you haven’t experienced writer's block before, here's what it feels like…