Release Your Mind... By Reading.
One of the things I run into a lot these days is, people don't read. I am not talking about the quick snippet on the great google machine, or the next greatest post from your favorite influencer, I am talking about literature. With regularity students in my courses, when asked what was the last book they read, will say, "..uh, I don't read." Actually, the response usually is, "you mean books? No." It breaks my heart.
Reading is one of the greatest remedies to the stresses of the world. I often have this conversation when students are suffering from artist's block. I tell them they need to step back and read. The look I usually get is like I have just fed them some camphor oil mixed with ipecac... yes, I wrote that. But it's so true. We need to let our minds relax and begin to paint their own pictures. Hard to do that when we are bombarded with images from the google machine all day. Sitting down with a good book allows your mind to disconnect from the visual noise and the imagination to flow once again, unfettered from someone else's interpretation.
When I was a kid in elementary school, and I think this happens still today, our teachers would have us try this optical trick:
Stare at the center of the flag for thirty (00:30:00) seconds. At the end of the time, look at a blank wall and blink. You should see a ghost image of the flag in red white and blue. The is actually called Opponent Process Theory, but part of the reason it works is, you are fatiguing your eyes for those thirty second as you stare, which causes the invert of the flag to appear when you blink. Now, think for a moment, it only took thirty second to fatigue your eyes. How long do you think it takes to make your brain tired. And how long do you spend staring at images on the great google machine? It's actually called "doom scrolling" now because your mind gets fatigued so much so that you find yourself in this endless cycle of scrolling never actually finding what you seek. STOP IT! Step back, read.
You will find that your mind will start to function again and that the block that is holding you back will be chiseled away as you step away and read. You can begin slowly if you wish. There are quite a few short stories in public domain that you can find on the web to get started. Here's a link to Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace." The same website has a number of short story options to choose from, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, Willa Cather, Louisa May Alcott, and so on. What will happen as you read is that your mind will reset and begin to paint for you brilliant tapestries and characters, landscapes and architecture, shattering your block and help you get back into the swing of things.
The best part about this process is, I have seen it work. A number of my students who have run into the great wall of block have been tasked with this method. The enthusiasm that returns when the process begins is so much fun. When I teach Character & Object Design, or Concept Design for Video Games, I will make the students read some of the stories above. I am usually met with the groans and pangs of seeming death at the introduction of the assignment. But, as each student begins to read, the ideas flow freely and the resulting work is fantastic.
I have seen beautiful concept work from students for stories such as "Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs, and "Hondo" by Louis L'Amour. I have to say one of my favorites was a concept package created by a student who read "Spider the Artist," a contemporary short story by Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor. In the process of concepting, Lisa learned so much about the Nigerian Igbo culture that it just bleeds through her concept art.
If this process works so well with my students, imagine how it will work for you. So sit back, pick up a good book, and read.
Good Resources for Short Stories:
Short Stories & Classic Literature for Readers & Teachers (americanliterature.com)
31 Best Short Stories and Collections Everyone Should Read | Reedsy Discovery
Any Short Story by Ray Bradbury
Classic Books that I recommend:
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers) - Alexandre Dumas
Dracula - Bram Stoker*
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Children of Hurin - J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
The Once and Future King - T.H. White
Dune - Frank Herbert
Logan's Run - William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson
Horatio Hornblower Series - C.S. Forester
Sharpes Rifles Series - Bernard Cornwell
Easy Reads that I enjoy:
Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
True Grit - Charles Portis
Hondo - Louis L'Amour
Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls - Robert Heinlein*
The Sword of Destiny, The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski*
The Wolf of the North Series - Duncan Hamilton
The First Blade of Ostia - Duncan Hamilton
The Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander
Eaters of the Dead - Michael Crichton*
The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
The Legion - Simon Scarrow
Jeeves and Wooster - P.G. Wodehouse
Cadfael Series - Ellis Peters
Ridiculous Reads that are fun:
Conan the Barbarian - Robert E. Howard (and all TOR versions with guest authors)
King Kull - Robert E. Howard
Solomon Kane - Robert E. Howard
Swords and Deviltry - Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser Series - Fritz Lieber*
* Titles marked as such contain some rather adult scenarios, so be wary.
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