Stuck in a rut? Feeling uninspired? You are not alone! I’ve been getting emails throughout the week from friends and colleagues who are stuck in creative blocks and feeling unmotivated to make the work they set out to create.
This is an issue that I take very seriously, because I know how dreadful, daunting, and down-right depressing it can be to face a creative block. I seem to hit a wall in my own life (creative or otherwise) at least three times a year. It knocks me out cold, and I feel like I have to start from scratch, all over again. It’s nice to know that people feel comfortable enough with me to ask for help, but I hardly know The Answer!
There are, however, a few things that I’ve done in the past to help me overcome my own creative blocks, and I wanted to share them here, for those of you who are struggling with similar issues.. I’ve also made this fancy little image as a quick reminder.
Granted that these methods are written for my friends that draw and make comics, but I think they apply to most situations. Again, I don’t feel like I have The Answer, but I do know what has worked for me in the past, and continues to work in my own life. It pretty much comes down to avoiding the block by doing something else until you’re charged up enough to get back to it, tackling the issue head-on and plowing through it, or turning the issue on its head and approaching it differently. Hopefully this helps.
What have you done in your own life to Get Over It?
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You should make this into a full size poster! I would totally hang this above my desk.
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Whoa – that’s a cool idea. Hmm…I’ll think about it. Oh! And here is the link for the brushpen you asked about: http://www.jetpens.com/Akashiya-Bamboo-Body-Brush-Pen-Natural-Body/pd/2607. It used to be cheaper, but I guess people are starting to find out about it.
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Oh Wow, THANKS!
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That’s wonderfully specific advice – thanks! I’ve been trying to find techniques to help me get through my frequent mini-dry spells (I sometimes think of it as ‘psychic lethargy,’ though it’s actually depression), when I can’t bear to think about those ideas I usually love. And so I leave my writing/drawing table, depressed.
Your post has made me remember how I used to deal with the same thing when I was playing music – when I couldn’t write, I’d learn songs I liked, or got out & jammed with friends; related tasks that allowed me to come back refreshed.
While you call them ‘blocks,’ I like how you remind us they’re not insurmountable. I adopted a philosophy where I stopped believing in ‘blocks’; there were simply times when I let out all the thoughts & experiences that drove my creativity, & when my source material became exhausted, it was time to go experience life some more, to fill up my reservoir of inspiration. Then I had something that I got to let out as more creativity.
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“Psychic lethargy.” I like that. It’s hard to just make a game out of work, but it’s solid medicine, if you can swallow it. I think you said it all, summed it all up with “when my source material became exhausted, it was time to go experience life some more.” That’s definitely how it is for me–if I am in a funk, it’s usually because my life is imbalanced and I’m not getting outside enough, or eating the right foods, or reading enough, etc. There is a direct correlation between a balanced life and creative output.
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Awesome post! I love creative ways to get over writer’s block, etc, and drawing just so happens to be one of my favorites.
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Hi, David! Thanks for the comment. There are so many reasons to love drawing, and the fact that it can improve our writing is just one of ’em. Dear drawing: we love you. From: everyone.
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