Thread: How do you deal with artists' block?

I don't say writer's block because I know that you might not have any ideas if you're a photographer or a painter or a musician (which is still writing, I suppose!) in just the same way as if you are a writer.

So, when the ideas drought hits you, what do you do? Or, if you have an idea and you just don't know how to execute it, what's your process?

I have different processes. I have an ideas board on my wall (backwards wrapping paper blu-tacked up there) that I put up to try and keep me motivated, but it hasn't worked perfectly. When I don't have any new ideas I fall back on the project I do have, which is adapting a P.G. Wodehouse novel for the stage. Otherwise I just sit and try and force an idea out. What really kills me is when I do have basic, vague ideas but no detail and no idea how to execute it. Still haven't found a cure for that yet. My biggest problem is basic laziness -- I sit at my computer thinking "I could write, but there are so many episodes of Psych I haven't seen yet".

My second biggest problem is my judgment telling me "I don't have the talent to become a great writer, and if I can never be great, there's no point writing", but that's something I need to deal with myself.

Well, usually when i write its for creative flow anyway, not for monies. So, i'm not TOO stressed about getting it out on time. However, if i find myself WANTING to write, NEEDING to write, but UNABLE to write. I stop. I get out of the house, hang out at the park, etc etc. I bring a notebook though. That way, when the idea HITS i have the notebook right there. So, i guess my advice to you is for you to just carry around a notebook and continue on with other things that you have to get done.

Showers work too*

I use different methods for art, music and literature. However as a general rule if find that exploring the subject in question beyond your 'comfort zone' can help. This can often be difficult (especially if you are as cynical as I am) but it can at least help you to find what it is you want to get from your own work, or show you what you want to avoid.

Originally Posted by KT_

I usually smoke marijuana.


I also keep an "intoxication notebook". I only draw or write in it when I am intoxicated. If I am unable to smoke pot, then I look through my notebook.

I find that is less of an unblock more of a sidetrack. Weed usually produces a very distinctive sort of art/music/writing. On the whole it tends to be unproductive, attempting to put the ideas down whilst stoned is impractical and trying to replicate them afterwords is a waste of time.

Originally Posted by djwolford

I think KT is pretty right on about the notebook. Get fedged up and start writing every little senseless thought. When you return to sobriety look through your notebook and try to figure out what it was that you were writing about exactly, because it usually requires a pretty good bit of imagination and creativity to make sense of it. After that your mind should be in a creative state already, and you can either use snippets of what you had previously put into your notebook or just go with new ideas that they may have inspired.

It's always helped me personally.

I suppose new experiences will always provoke some sort of reaction which can be portrayed artistically, I just don't think weed is necessary to achieve this.

Originally Posted by gwahir

I don't say writer's block because I know that you might not have any ideas if you're a photographer or a painter or a musician (which is still writing, I suppose!) in just the same way as if you are a writer.

So, when the ideas drought hits you, what do you do? Or, if you have an idea and you just don't know how to execute it, what's your process?

I have different processes. I have an ideas board on my wall (backwards wrapping paper blu-tacked up there) that I put up to try and keep me motivated, but it hasn't worked perfectly. When I don't have any new ideas I fall back on the project I do have, which is adapting a P.G. Wodehouse novel for the stage. Otherwise I just sit and try and force an idea out. What really kills me is when I do have basic, vague ideas but no detail and no idea how to execute it. Still haven't found a cure for that yet. My biggest problem is basic laziness -- I sit at my computer thinking "I could write, but there are so many episodes of Psych I haven't seen yet".

My second biggest problem is my judgment telling me "I don't have the talent to become a great writer, and if I can never be great, there's no point writing", but that's something I need to deal with myself.

I'm going to be completely honest here, but some of the absolute best ideas I have come from sleep deprivation and caffeine. Once I get an idea, I play it out to it's maximum possible limit and the edge back a bit for what I want. Albeit, my ideas usually surround trying to give real historical events fun and interesting explanations or clever "twists" for stories.

I've read that some just think first thing in the morning.

Some distance themselves from their material for lengths of time and others take showers and some sit at the same table at the same cafe/restaurant's. I think it's really a personal thing.

My best ideas come in the shower. I can't tell you how many complex systems I've simplified and solved in the shower.

Coincidentally, when my job is actually challenging, the shower gets me motivated to show up in the morning.

People keep saying 'don't force it' but I think forcing yourself to just do it is one of the best ways to make progress. Editing something and re-drafting can be much easier once you've got basic ideas down on the page. A teacher once told me about how someone like TS Elliott suffered from Writers block for a long time and someone eventually told him to 'just write' and so he did and it worked. Just relaxing and letting the paper hit the page can be a great way to find ideas and develop them.

Also, try working with other writers. I completely lamented this idea and had an attitude of "NO! I am a solitary writer and my writing is my own work blah blah pretentious blah!" but then when I tried it with a friend in college I found we complimented each other really well and the ideas would just spring to life and take shape and we'd riff off each other. It helped that she was good with thinking up the particular characters and main plot details and I, meanwhile, was better at elaborating on ideas and thickening it out.

If I'm really stuck for actual ideas though I take a walk, possibly with some music and refuse to turn my brain off. Notebooks are always handy and should always be carried, no matter what (can't tell you how many times I've scolded myself for not doing so). Try and gather up as much inspiration as possible as well. Read newspapers, articles, books, magazines etc. constantly. Just because you take an idea from something doesn't mean you're ripping it off. Don't take 'originality' too seriously. A lot of the greatest stories are just re-hashings of other stories.

Originally Posted by Woofness

I find that is less of an unblock more of a sidetrack. Weed usually produces a very distinctive sort of art/music/writing. On the whole it tends to be unproductive, attempting to put the ideas down whilst stoned is impractical and trying to replicate them afterwords is a waste of time.

I do agree that sometimes putting down ideas whilst stoned can be impractical since my technical skills diminish significantly. I can't draw worth a shit whilst high but I do get some of my best and most creative ideas when I am. This is not just my opinion but the opinion of many of my art instructors over the years.

For me, if I am working on a project and I hit a road block, I take a break and mess around with something else. I've found that just running with strange little ideas that bear no relation to what I was doing before sometimes grant me inspiration. Admittedly, a small spark, but when I begin apply new things to something I am stuck on, it is a great motivator.

I've found that just toying around with different ideas and artistic flows, multiple projects at a time, I never really get artist's block. I guess having the abundance of tools that I have to continue the flow really helps, for instance when I'm working on a song, sometimes I'll just bust out the monome and play around in the key of the songs with different samples and I'll end up with exactly what I want in the end. Sometimes it gets extremely difficult, but I usually work through it. I've found that the presence of drugs or alcohol usually hinders progress, not just in me but the people that I attempt to "jam" with. They usually play sloppily, can't keep in time or key and their all around performance suffers.