Go to a public place where you can easily observe the people there. Bring a notebook. Pick one person and write a character sketch about that person. Begin with physical descriptions, add habitual body movements (such as taps fingers on table, tosses hair back often, etc.), create a false background for this person including family (sisters, brothers, spouse), education, job, etc. Do this exercise once a week for at least 4 weeks or more. Before you know it, those of you that write fiction have a rich collection of "characters" to choose from for your next project. Those of you who don't write fiction have managed to revive your awareness of the world around you.

Positive affirmations... I like the way Julia Cameron put it in her book "The Artist's Way" when she states "All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage. As blocked creatives, we tend to regard these bogus spotlight grabbers with animostiy."  When dealing with this type of block it is recommended by many psychologists, counsellors, etc. to apply positive affirmations to your daily life to help overcome these blocks. If you are unfamiliar with affirmations and how they work you will want to read her book. Briefly put "an affirmation is a positive statement of positive belief". It has the power, if applied properly, to redirect our "negative self-talk" into "positive self-talk".

Here are a few examples of positive affirmations:

• "I deserve a rewarding creative life."
• "I am competent and confident in my creative work."
• "I have rich creative talents."

Feel uncomfortable writing any of these down or saying them aloud to yourself? Why? Think about it, your own self-critic may be smothering you. So here's how you can help yourself overcome part of this ... pick your affirmation, for example:

"I      (your name)      am a brilliant and prolific     (writer, poet, or whatever your chosen field is)    "

If you feel discomfort by saying or writing this positive affirmation to yourself, ask yourself the source of it and you may discover your core beliefs - the negative core beliefs - which may have been holding you back. When you find these negative "blurts" (as Julia Cameron puts it) write a positive affirmation to use as your tool to overcome them. Choose 5 affirmations, write them on separate index cards, read and say them to yourself 5 times during the course of your day. Repeat this exercise daily. It will help you overcome the negative core beliefs which may be holding you back.