We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Jean a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
With a new album (“Colors & Covers”) releasing in a week or so, this is interesting timing for this particular question. Because here I am on the far side of the question, about to share a collection of new songs that are finished—that have been written. However, if we rewind to the beginning of the album-writing process, writer’s block is something I certainly deal with.
For a writer, few things will shake your foundations like the inability to write. I choose to write. I need to write, and when I can’t… When I can’t find the words, I start to put too much pressure on every little idea—usually ideas I haven’t written down yet. Little snippets of incomplete thought that aren’t ready for a forge. Yet, I try anyway. I take a wisp of a thought and imagine the finished product as “perfect” before I’ve really explored what it could be, creating a problem for myself where I am trying to match something I haven’t written a word of yet with something vaguely “perfect” in my head. I then attempt to write the finished draft before I’ve outlined any of it… It’s a mental spiral from the start, slowly realizing the original idea was never ready to begin.
So what do I do? I haven’t perfected the art of avoiding writer’s block, but there are a couple things I know to help.
Write anyway. Even when I think there’s nothing to draw from. Write without pressure to be clever or profound. Simply write, even if it’s about the frustrations of not knowing what to write. Put it all in a journal. There are a lot of reasons to journal, but my favorite is that journaling turns writing into a habit. Maybe I’m not writing song lyrics everyday, but I am putting thoughts into words everyday; and being able to revisit past days’ writing can contribute to whatever I’m writing today. Yesterday’s thoughts can help me delve deeper into today’s. Ideas need time to grow and the patience to let them. Not everything in a journal is going to be gold, but at the very least, it always encourages me that I am not an empty well.
I also have a file called “Scribbles,” and whenever I have an idea, I jot it down in that file. Doesn’t matter how big or small, I keep them, not starting them too early but saving them for later. They’re all disconnected bits and pieces, but after several years, they have become quite an idea bank…
Another thing that helps is a change of scene. Set the frustration aside and do something else. Go for a walk. Catch up with a friend. Try something new, like a ceramics class or kayaking or rock climbing. Read a book. Check out a new restaurant. Do something that not only takes your mind off of the creative block but also gives you a new experience. Fresh new perspective.
And then, when writer’s block tries to freeze you again (because it will try), go back to the journals you’ve already written and remind yourself that you’ve been this way before and made it through before.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a folk singer/songwriter in the Pacific Northwest, living in a little apple town in Washington. The music I make is rooted in the folk and Americana music I’ve loved all my life, and I love story-songs. True stories, real people, real life, and all things with a flicker of hope.
My music has taken me across the country many times—opening for Three Dog Night’s sold out concert at the City Winery in New York City, playing the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival in North Carolina, the Fishstock Concert Series in Wisconsin, the Black Rose Acoustic Society in Colorado… to name a few adventures!
I have recorded five studio albums and an EP— all recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, at Hilltop Recording Studios. My “Lightfoot” EP was released Summer 2023, and this project was my “thank you” to an all-time favorite songwriter. My sixth album (“Colors & Covers”) will be released November 2023, and it is a collection of songs that reflect a handful of the different shades and seasons in this colorful life.
I’m thankful for where music has taken me thus far, and I look forward to where the road will take me next, the new songs yet to be written, the fellow wanderers to meet, and the adventures to be had along the way…
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. The confidence and belief that you can learn anything: Something I’ve held onto ever since I was a little kid is the belief that I can learn anything I need to learn. That doesn’t mean I will instantly become an expert at everything, but if there’s something I need to learn to keep moving forward… I can learn it. Learning how to play a new instrument, how to best record demos from home, how to get songs licensed, how to get music copyrighted, how to set up heavy sound equipment…
Whatever it is, starting now, you can learn what you need to.
2. Building a team:
At the beginning of a venture, it is so often one person alone who starts something, but having a team of people building the dream with you… is the dream. Bring other people onboard who will believe with you, push you to be better, who know more than you, and will help carry the heavy sound equipment…
My first point began with confidence, and the second begins with humility–inviting people to be a part of your pursuit, giving them room to not only help you but also to teach you.
3. Be courageous:
I am not the most courageous person I know. Everyone I know would be above me on that list. But… Whatever it is that you want to pursue, don’t hold back. Go after it, and make something beautiful. And when the trials come (like needing to move the heavy sound equipment), take them on. Be courageous.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Sure! I would love that!
Something that I think could be really fun would be collaborating with other folk artists in Washington to create a songwriter-round kind of show…
Whenever I’m in Nashville, I love getting in on the songwriter rounds. Three or four artists are on the stage at a time, and they take turns performing their songs. It’s a great way to meet other musicians, but because of the variety of songs and sounds, it’s also just a great template for a show. It would be fun to create a concert like that with artists out here in the Northwest (or elsewhere… I like to travel, too), with all the performers on a stage together, all getting to play their songs. I could see it as a home concert situation or a concert hall situation. Either way, that could be a possibility…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bjeanmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjeanmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bjeanmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/brittanyjean
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/23Efm6oysk3wpHPNtPqu8A?si=7-lXTFOMSjy52LwCmSG3zQ
