Overcoming Creative Slowdowns and Writer’s Block

Creating is tough in a society where everyone will misunderstand you for a potato. It’s full of ups and downs and pauses.

Like when I get stuck. When I’m lost in the fog, wandering in the doldrums. When my brain reaches a pause, a necessary step before it can catch up with itself.

But it’s essential–the stagnation. It’s a stall, a completely normal episode that must happen in the writing process where I can wander back on track and continue Freewheeling off the beaten path where, although bumpy and sickening, is worth every mile in my progress.

When I’m standing still…

I’ll let it win.

I’ll try to fight writer’s block, but in the end, I’ll accept my defeat. During this creative constipation (if you will), I’ll tend to other things that require my attention (feeding the goldfish, scraping hard bits of pasta from my Dutch pot) before I can resume. Creativity is shy and it’ll demand sometime before it reveals itself.

I’ll unplug from the social realm.

I need to cleanse. When I find myself tumbling down the rabbit hole of the social sphere, I’ll seek isolation. The social world cripples the Self, but I’ve learned to put the phone down for days on end before I find myself regressing back to an unhealthy state. To write from within, I need to disconnect. There are moments of desperation where I’ll compare myself to others, whose journey and timeline differ from mine. It’s no fair match or should be one at all.

I’ll go out.

By embracing these dry spells, I’ll go out. I’ll surround myself with people. Pick dandelions. Climb a tree. I’ll then receive a text from Inspiration letting me know they’re on their way because their drunk cousin, Procrastination, fell asleep on his car keys.

I’ll read, watch and listen.

I seek inspiration from works I know and appreciate. I’ll reopen a favorite paperback or listen to meaningful songs. I’ll pick up new books for some fresh talent that will help grease this engine and hopefully get the momentum going.

I’ll just write.

It’ll read neither here nor there and I’ll believe I was someone else an hour ago, but the fact of the matter is there is something there: written words. Sometimes, onward and upward trump stagnation. Experimenting is essential to creating, like a mental exercise. You’d be surprised at how much you can bend without breaking.

I’ll seek the company of other creators.

Surrounding myself with other writers or artists making things happen renders me that drive. I like connecting with them, learning about their projects or their obstacles because, in the end, we’re not alone in that matter.