Move out of Florida.
(That was the most important sentence you will ever hear)
Ahaha!! I was part of a group that attempted to create a grassroots film coalition in the Bay Area back in 2002-2004. There was a core group of four directors, one producer, and three writers to start. Most of them have moved on to L.A. and N.Y. now, lol.
Florida DOES have its inspirations though! It really does
To the OP:
I've been through what you described, multiple times. There was a point in my life that I had really 'given up' in my head, I just could not imagine ever feeling the creativity and inspiration I'd felt in previous years. It sort of felt like domestic life and the demands of 'the real world' had gotten their way, and killed off huge sectors of my imagination.
It turned out not to be true though. I used to despair myself, just feeling empty because I would sit down to write and it was like NOTHING was there. It was just a very sore spot, and truly painful. Thing is, the DESIRE never went away and I think that was actually the difference. I think if it's REALLY gone, there is no emotion whatsoever about it. I think the fact that you want it so much and really FEEL things about it is a good sign that your creativity has not gone anywhere. It's just stifled for one reason or another.
I'm not sure how you work, or what outside factors might be contributing to you feeling blocked, but I would say one of the things that set my mind free in terms of creativity was taking the pressure off myself to create something HUGE. It can become like the monster under the bed after awhile.
If you have too tight a grip on what you want to achieve, it can grow into this looming monster that you subconsciously avoid. For instance, I have a novel I've been planning and dreaming up since I was 15. When I finally sat down to write it at age 29, I found that I'd built up all this pressure on myself to DELIVER a great story because I'd sunk so many hopes and ideals into it. I was editing too much as I wrote, I was clinging too hard to previous ideas instead of being organic, I was holding myself to this expectation of a 'great work' too much. Once I dropped all of that out of my head and said "I'm just going to WRITE whatever is in my head and I'll worry about the rest later", I was able to write with so much more freedom.
So basically, don't pressure yourself to be the next great artist and don't pressure yourself to produce the next great art. Just let yourself create whatever it is you create. Looking at my work as stepping stones that created a path as I went along was better than trying to stick to some path I'd already created. If that makes sense!
Also, I found that revisiting all the things which inspired me to be a writer in the first place helped immensely. My favorite books as a kid, pictures of the places I used to explore in my old hometown as a child, music I grew up with but hadn't heard in a long time, etc. It sparked a lot of that love and desire back up in me.
Exposing myself to new artistic stimulation helped as well, and funny enough, a lot of the times it was the art forms I initially scoffed at which gave me the most inspiration at times. I was never a fan of modern art myself, but upon delving into it more I found lots of artists that really touched me and inspired me to write. It was like it opened new areas of imagination in my mind but still brought up new ideas in the vein of what I want to say as an artist. New art, new music, new movies, new books!!
The last idea I have is reading up on the artists that inspire you most, their advice or memoirs (if there are any). Sometimes I find passages from my favorite artists that talk about the struggles with creativity and how hard it can be. Sometimes JUST the act of hearing that someone I respect has gone through the same things I have, it puts those fears to rest and I feel ready to just DO IT.
Hope this was helpful! Good luck and hang in there!
