Watching the Walls of the Ice Cave

...that's my analogy for writing at present. You have to wait when you feel frozen. Just wait. Then the ice begins to melt a little. You have an idea. If you're writing anything original it feels like that, I think.

The point is to remain present to the ice. Every few sentences or paragraphs, you run into an impasse. When you're finished, a bunch of ice has melted—but there's still ice floating around. Maybe this is what explains the depression that happens when you finish a project—you are acutely aware of its limits.