The cursor blinks in the silence, daring me to prove I’m still a musician.

Track’s open. Nothing’s happening. Just the faint hum of a stalled imagination.

Then. Thump.

Otis lands square on the keyboard, scattering MIDI notes across the screen like cannon fire.

“Not now,” I groan. “I’m trying to work.”

“Trying?” he says, twitching his whiskers. “Looks more like drifting. You’ve been staring at that screen so long, I’ve watched paint dry with more groove.”

I sigh. “I’m stuck. Nothing’s coming.”

He squints, eyes gleaming like he’s spotted a merchant ship on the horizon.
“Then maybe it’s time to stop waiting for inspiration to raise its flag. Be a pirate.”

“A pirate?”

“Aye,” he growls, tail swishing like a cutlass. “Bring your ship up alongside theirs. Broadside ‘em. Board the vessel. Plunder! Take what works. Melodies, rhythms, ideas, and make it your own.”

“That’s stealing,” I protest.

“Stealing?” Otis flicks his paw dismissively. “Mozart did it. The Stones did it. Every cat with claws borrows a few scratches from the wall before making their own masterpiece. Creativity ain’t about pure originality, it’s about the art of refined thievery. You take the gold, melt it down, and mint your own coin.”

He springs off the keyboard like a feline Douglas Fairbanks.

“Stop being so afraid of sounding like someone else,” he says. “Just sound like everyone else until it’s so you it hurts.”

“And take a break, it’s time to rub my belly.”

Can We Help You?

Hoist your own creative flag, matey. Stop waiting for fair winds — board the ship and take what’s yours.

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