Stories of Overcoming Creative Blocks and Finding New Paths to Creativity

Writing is a gift, and I am the vessel blessed to receive the story, then allowed to be the scribe who shares it with the world. I seldom have writer’s block, though sometimes I have to wait for a story to reveal itself to me. If I am not writing, I am reading about my craft. Read more>>

When you channel your creativity for both work and personal, it is really easy to burnout. I have been doing large scale event design with plants and flowers for 7 years, and before that I was still in the industry on a smaller scale for another 4 years. I’m only 26, so I have spent a good portion of my career utilizing my creativity. I’ve gone through many droughts and dry spells when it comes to creativity, when you create a career centered around it, it can often feel like you’re producing only for others. Read more>>

I turn my attention to something else. I often find I get my best ideas when I’m least expecting them, often in the middle of the night (not always helpful!) but frequently when I’m engrossed in a different artform. I’m predominantly a writer, although I do dabble with visual art and sound poetry. Getting up from my desk when I’m stuck with writing prose or poetry, and going for a walk can help. Particularly if I can surround myself, however briefly, with trees. Trees are good. Important to both the planet’s health and our own. But moving oneself from a state of focused intention, which can often feel frustrating when blocked, to one of unfocused but open attention can be very freeing. Read more>>

As I sit here and write about a creative block, I am currently in a creative block. I haven’t written a blog post or anything for that matter in months. My creativity with crafts also went by the way side.
But why? The why is the block. When I really sit, and get honest with myself the why is revealed. These are the questions I asked myself: Why am I writing blog posts? What is my purpose writing them? Is this helping others? Is this bringing me joy? Does this align with my journey? Getting real with myself and giving myself grace is how I recognized that I was not writing my blog for the right reasons. It was no longer bringing me joy. Read more>>

In Evershock, we occasionally experience writers block, as all artists do. We overcome this is in many different ways. Improvising a song on the spot, or “jamming”, is a great way for musicians to find the sound they’re looking for and connect with other musicians. Jamming has resulted in us creating some of our favorite songs to date! Another way we overcome writers block is through collaboration, which usually starts when one of us shows the rest of the band a new riff or song part. The other members then each add their own unique layer of sound to the song, eventually figuring out and establishing the song’s structure. Read more>>

I don’t. I just let it take its course because I know it’s not gonna last forever. So once you let it take its course and then, you know, I get past it and then I eventually just start going back to my usual course. Because trying to push through or force it doesn’t feel like it’s naturally flowing. It doesn’t feel like the creativity is naturally flowing. People know if something is rushed or forced. I don’t like to force or rush my material. I like to let it flow. So I just let the block take his course because it’s gonna come whether you like it or not. So just deal with it for short time, and then eventually you’ll get back on course. Read more>>

As a rapper/producer I’ve faced writer’s block and beat block plenty of times, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered how to push through it, but I’ve definitely come up with a few ways to get out of it.
One thing that’s helped me is making myself get up and create even when I don’t feel inspired, or working my “Rap Muscles” by spitting freestyles over different beats for a set amount of time even if the content of what your spitting might sound stupid you gotta keep working at it, even on tough days.
When it comes to production it’s a bit more simple for me to get out of a block because I can easily dig through some samples and get hit with inspiration right away.
At the end of the day Iv’e also learned to stay persistent. Blockages don’t last forever, but quitting will make them harder to overcome. Read more>>

Overcoming creative blocks frequents itself a few times a year for me and has always been a journey of embracing patience and curiosity. When I find myself stuck, I take it as a signal to step back and reconnect with the reasons I started creating in the first place. Often, it means immersing myself in my favorite childhood arts and crafts or diving into something completely new, like exploring different art mediums or even something as simple as watching my children discover art with wonder in their eyes. Read more>>

Although I’d like to think I know how to “overcome writer’s block”, it will always come up throughout different creative endeavors, so all I can do is use tools that help me find a spark in the moment. Whether it’s writing a song or a screenplay, if I come across a time when I don’t want to to open my computer or pick up my guitar I usually go back to the basics. Can I play a chord? Can I play anything in a pattern of four that sounds like it could be a song? I don’t think “ok I have to make this have meaning… the lyrics needs to be perfect.. the character needs to say something important.”. Sometimes I have days that feel meaningless (creatively), and other times I feel like I could write for hours. I’ve learned it can be slow, but ultimately I can’t force creativity. Read more>> 

After my first book, I wasn’t sure what direction to take for my next. I had a talk with my publisher and he suggested working on a book of ghost stories. If I could make a tight deadline, I could have the book out by the next October. Being properly motivated and having lots of research to do, I was able to make the deadline and had a lot of fun researching. Read more>>

As someone who’s constantly working to get my thoughts and voice heard through every track I create, I know that writer’s block is always going to find me. When it hits, I take a step back, let life flow, and give myself the space to feel whatever comes up. Eventually, real moments and ideas start to surface, and that’s what I end up putting into my music. Writer’s block isn’t fun—it can make me feel stuck, like I’m coming up empty. But the more I face it, the more I learn to let it ride without letting it drown me. Overcoming it, even little by little, is all part of the process. Read more>>