self portrait thursday: new style

New glasses but still not a clue about my latest writing course. I'm annoyed cos it's throwing up a huge creative block to getting anything done, not just the writing. For some reason I'm just not getting it. My attempts feel contrived and false, and don't reflect what I'm trying to convey. In my eyes, it all looks like pretentious twaddle.
Then in one class exercise, instead of writing I found myself sketching the photograph I was studying as my 'source'. I lingered over the curve of the lips and the snug encircling of a knitted cuff. Noted the upward curve of the mouth offset by the downward grimace of the lower lip in misery. How can I tap into that kind of observation and translate it into the required words? Sigh.
Why was it so easy for me to convey homesickness in a piece of jewelry, yet now I totally suck at putting other ideas down in words?
Hoping for some kind of inspiration at Northern Voice tomorrow, ar at least a distraction :)