When One Door Closes, Look for Another Door

On remaining creative when the writing won't come (with a process prompt)

A closed door is an over-used metaphor, I know. Lack of access. Feeling trapped. Exclusion. The famous quote is, “When a door closes, a window opens.” This implies that there is another way out of the same space, a way to be free. That’s not quite the feeling that I’m thinking about today.

The writing door in my brain has been closed lately. Slammed tight. Swollen shut. Locked and barred. I have only written two poems since January 1, and one of them is so awful that I shudder to even call it a poem. I have been trying to revise and submit, what I usually do when I hit a rough spot with my writing, but that hasn’t changed anything nor has it fulfilled the urge to make. So, with my writing door closed, I don’t look for a window. I look for another door.

Another door implies that I’m choosing to cross the threshold into a different space. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer, reading and responding to subs for Asterales: A Journal of Arts & Letters, so finding something offscreen with which to engage was appealing. That hallway has led to working on the Februllage collage challenge. From their Instagram page: “Februllage is a collaboration between Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum. This initiative invites collage artists to make a ‘collage a day’ throughout February using our OFFICAL WORD PROMPT CALENDAR – 2025.” They provide a prompt word each day in February, and artists from all over the world, both beginning and experienced, post their results. (Besides providing prompts, for me, it has been a wonderful way to find new artists to follow on Instagram and study new techniques. BTW, I’m (at)djv50 on that platform if you want to follow along…)

I have a limited supply of collage materials, as I haven’t been collecting things for very long, but I do my best to be creative and have fun interpreting the prompt each day. The biggest problem I have? What to do with all of these pieces at the end of February when the challenge is over!

I have decided I will most likely give them away for postage cost to anyone who would like one. (If it’s more than a greeting card). And, if that’s no one, then the process was fun and I will try to figure out a way to use these 28 little weirdos. Here are a few from the first two weeks of prompts:

Day 6: Neighborhood

Day 13: Heavy

Day 9: Horizon

So while the writing door still feels slammed shut, opening the other door has kept me occupied, kept my brain working and my hands busy.

Challenge/Process Prompt

1. If you were to open a door to another creative outlet, what would it be? Baking? Painting? Gardening? Photography? Needlework or fiber arts? Music? Choose one and think about why it appeals to you and how it fulfills a creative need.

2. Are there creative pursuits you used to follow but no longer do? Why did you stop? (For example, I used to play guitar—not well, but well enough—and sing. I don’t do it much anymore due to arthritis, but I used to love it as an outlet.)

3. The next time you are confronted with a closed door to your usual outlet (for whatever reason), try opening another door. Maybe just a crack. See how doing something else makes you feel. It might even unstick the other door. You never know.