Getting unstuck

I sat stuck the other night. I wasn’t sure what to write. I was tired and a bit cranky.

And then I thought about classic composer George Frideric Handel. He locked himself in his London home and worked nonstop for 23 days writing his Messiah oratory. When he was done on September 14, 1741, he had a produced a masterpiece.

My music knowledge is limited, but I know hard work and creativity when I see it. Handel’s Messiah contains 53 movements or songs. They cover the prophecy of Christ, his birth, death, and resurrection. It’s safe to say that Handel was busy.

Messiah is among the most popular works in choral music. For many, the “Hallelujah” chorus has become a centerpiece of the Christmas season. 

In his life, Handel composed more than 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, numerous arias, chamber music, a large number of ecumenical pieces, odes and serenatas, and 16 organ concerti.

Yes, I got the inspiration I needed. I went back to work and I wasn’t stuck anymore.

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35 thoughts on “Getting unstuck”

    1. Yea, but I’m thinking what we modern day folk have to achieve is a bigger accomplishment. You know what I mean Ab. Sure he produced this great work, but look at us, we have to go to work, we have to feed families. We have to deal with traffic or paying the electricity. He got to work on his great masterpiece. We have to deal with WP challenges. We definitely have the bigger challenge. Ha, ha. I’m kidding.

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    1. Oh, I hear you LA. You publish every day you definitely deserve a break – if that’s what you want to do. I’m not sure if this helpful. But here’s a few quick ideas to help you break through. First, let yourself relax and not worry. It will come again. Go for a brainstorming walk where you decide that for the next ten or 20 minutes you’re going to come away with 5 blog ideas. Take a pen and paper with you. Walk a different direction or route than you normally go. Go to a library. Not to find a book. But to browse the different sections and get topic ideas that interest you. If you can’t get to the library, browse pexels. What images make you feel something good or bad? Read your old blogs. What did you miss that you wanted to come back to in the future. We writers tend to think in words. Post an image instead. Why’s it call out to you? Hope this helps. Hang in there.

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  4. There are so many great role models and examples for us to be inspired by. Thanks for sharing Handel’s work, Brian. I play some of his music and other classics whenever I need a bit of inspiration.

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  5. Impressive! I wonder if everyone was given 23 days to just stay home and “make something” what we could all be inspired to come up with? They say you have to let yourself be bored to really hear all of the ideas in your head, so maybe cooping yourself up without any TV or iPhones could have a really amazing impact on our artistic output. Who knows? Happy Monday!

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    1. Great question. On one hand, I think I would come up with some pretty cool stuff. The blogs would be amazing. I’d be well on my way on my novel. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure I would get nothing done. I would put the writing off, but would get caught up on all my Netflix/Amazon shows. Oh it’s time to re-watch the Sopranos or West Wing or Game of Thrones. Ha, ha. It’s a fun dream though don’t you think?

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  7. Hi Brian
    We know some people who lock themselves away for many days or weeks to produce something creative. I had a quite isolated stuga (Swedish for summerhouse) in Northern Sweden where I used to stay twice a year to write my books. A very drastic thing did a friend of mine who went as the only person to a research station in Antarctica without any connection to the outside world for seven months.
    I don’t think what Händel did is unusual.
    Klausbernd 🙂

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      1. Quite often, family doesn’t help creativity. As my wife is a successful artist, we both need our times of isolation. That’s no problem. By the way, my wife has a place of isolation in Florida.

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    1. I’m trying to look at it inspiring. He had it easy. No phone. No internet. No distractions. Ha, ha, I’m kidding. But still I’m thinking that it gives hope for the rest of us to hang in there and keep “creating” — you never know what we might come across.

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  14. All it takes to motivate is inspiration! I wonder what motivated Handel to lock himself in his home and work 23 days to write his masterpiece?

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