warning: ancient crone blood

I wanted to work on writing my novel, as I abandoned it the past week or so in favor of poetry. However, I was overcome with that increasingly-familiar feeling of dread when approaching my notebook. I know I like writing my book, it's just that starting is hard. Sometimes I need to get jolted into it.

Devoid of ideas, I picked up some cross stitch. I have a mini pattern I'm working of featuring an astronaut. I've been planning to put completed astronaut up around my desk as inspiration. While my hands were busy stitching, my mind relaxed enough to begin thinking of writing. I stopped after just one section, because I needed to get my hands on a writing utensil.

Boom. Three pages out in a flash.

Later on, I worked on painting a wrought iron table. My mind wondered yet again, and soon I had a zillion ideas for new poems floating around in my head.

My theory is that focusing on something else bypasses the part of my brain that freaks out and goes, "You can't write that!" allowing me to get in touch with my creativity. I think Julia Cameron would agree.

Thoughts? Anyone else have this experience?