Meet Patrick Williams

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrick Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrick below.

Hi Patrick, 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?
During World War II, when J.R.R. Tolkien was writing Lord Of The Rings, he became paralyzed by writer’s block. The Lord Of The Rings saga had been a multi-year project and he became deeply discouraged as he was unable to finish the work. A friend advised him to break away from the project and write something else to get his mind off Lord Of The Rings. What he wrote was a hidden gem called “Leaf by Niggle”, which was an allegorical tale of his creative struggle. The lesson I took from this anecdote was that when I feel stuck, a creative diversion can cure blocks better than a meaningless diversion. Also, I should seek the advice of friends more often, which reminds me of something a good friend told me years ago.

My friend, Adam, owned an art gallery. For years he worked closely with many talented artists, and is an insightful lover of art. He once told me that he saw many artists struggle when they waited for inspiration to come to them. They’d tell him they preferred to wait for inspiration because they believed that was the best way to capture true art with all its potential. Adam would respond by encouraging these painters to make art their daily work instead of waiting for inspiration to come. His comment stayed with me and got me thinking for a long time about the creative process.

Through years of creative ups and downs, I’ve found my friend’s advice to also be true for songwriting. When I started making songwriting a daily habit and deliberately making the effort to join with inspiration instead of waiting for it, it started arriving more often. Like any relationship, I think I have to give inspiration the respect it is due. Something special happens when I simply show up, rain or shine, and make music. It feels great when old and new ideas come together, or a new lyric or better way to record comes to me. Even on the days when I’m not feeling it at all I can pay my daily tithe to creativity by showing up and directing some energies there. The effort is always rewarded in kind, and feeds the inspiration to keep going. Inspiration stays close at hand and a lot of music gets made.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a singer-songwriter in Raleigh, NC. I am also a writer, and love solo backpacking in the mountain wilderness areas of NC and surrounding states. You can listen to my original music, watch music videos, and read about my internal and external experience in the wilderness on my website: www.patrickwilliams.info

My musical style is what I call “contemplative rock”, and offers melodic vocals and harmonies mixed with driving rock grooves and intimate acoustic songs. The lyrics are reflective, visual, literary, and spiritual. I enjoy new ways of seeing and experiencing the world, so my music reflects this with a diverse mix of styles and influences.

I’ve been songwriting since my early 20’s, but have experienced long periods when I wasn’t making music because of growing work responsibilities and starting a family. The biggest creativity block during those times was finding energy and time for creativity. Even though I could remember the tremendous joy and peacefulness I experienced from songwriting, I struggled to redirect the time wasted on passive escapes, like TV and news, into more meaningful activities. Doing anything meaningful takes energy, but always gives far more than it takes. Passive activities are the opposite but are easy for me to fall into, especially under stress.

Eventually, a layoff and the COVID pandemic got me to look at how I was spending my time and pushed me to make positive changes. Part of that change was consciously adopting the identity as a songwriter. Once I started calling myself a songwriter I started earnestly writing songs, because I couldn’t call myself a songwriter if I wasn’t making any songs. In 2020 I set the goal to learn to play more instruments and make a solo album of original music. A few years later I’d written and recorded a bunch of new songs and released the album, “For The Sake Of The Dead”, which was an exploration of grief for loved one’s who’d passed away. Around the same time, I joined the rock band, RetroFusion, as their singer and rhythm guitarist, and started writing songs with the band. It felt great to put so much energy and time into these creative projects! Anyone who’s created something knows the special feeling you get when suddenly there is this new thing before you that wasn’t there before. A new song contains a part of me. It reflects my energy and experiences, and it’s something I can enjoy for the rest of my life. It’s wonderful to put my passion into it and it’s so joyful to express and share that with others. I love making music everyday. It’s a daily habit I never want to stop.

This year I’m actively writing and recording new songs for my second album. I just released the single “In Too Deep”, and plan to release a few more singles this year and the full album in 2026.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Adopting the identity as a songwriter motivated me to keep pushing forward. Identities are powerful and self motivating because they are an expression of our most important values. It’s much easier to make positive daily habits from the identities I adopt. I am really careful about my identities because I’ve experienced how powerful they are. I want to stay open to truth and embrace positive change, so it’s important to think about them and keep them meaningful. Thinking about why I’m adopting a particular identity is motivational. For songwriting, it’s because I love to explore and express my deep love of music in all its forms. I love the experience of joining with inspiration to create something new, and the joy and meaning it brings.

Another skill I practice is the one mentioned earlier: making songwriting a daily habit. No matter how I feel, I have to put energy into making music every day. Since there are endless tasks to writing and releasing music, there’s always a way for me to create, no matter my mood. Some days I write lyrics, or record a new idea, or edit a song. Other days I record vocals or guitar, make a music video, or practice performing live. Last year I invested in a great sounding, live acoustic setup. It makes my vocals and guitar sound fantastic and inspires me to play. It’s always ready for me. All I have to do is switch on the power and step up to the mic.

And this is a good example of the last thing: building an environment that encourages my daily music habit. It took a lot of thought, and trial and error, because I know that any roadblock will become an easy excuse to skip my music habit, especially on those days I’m not feeling it. Even on those days, I make sure I do something for music. I trust that if I simply pick up the guitar with an open heart, there’s a musical expression for what I’m feeling. Even if nothing comes of it, I always feel good for trying, and sometimes the best ideas come on those days.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I’m an avid reader, and devour about 100 books a year. That makes it hard to pick a single book. I like to read books from many different genres, and I love books that let me live within a new lens of human experience. Mixing genres is a good way to find these books. I like to try on some ideas I learn from books, especially if the ideas spark positive change, inspire a lyric, or give insight into living a meaningful life. Here are a few favorites from different genres (realms of human experience):

— Spiritual: “The Reason For God” by Tim Keller, “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis
— Physical: “Why We Get Fat” by Gary Taubes, “Your Money Or Your Life” by Vicki Robbin
— Intellectual: “The Expanse” series by James S.A. Corey, “The Three Body Problem” series by Liu Cixin, “The Overstory” by Richard Powers
— Creative: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
— Emotional/Relational: “The Gilead” series by Marilynne Robinson, “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
— History/Leisure: the “Wolf Hall” series by Hilary Mantel, “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry
— Poetry: “Selected Poems” by William Blake

I’ve written three unpublished books. I hope to publish them soon, but you can read or listen to them at www.patrickwilliams.info/books
— Money & Meaning: Reclaim Ownership Of Your Time And Achieve Financial Freedom By Developing An Investor Mindset
— The Secret To Health: Be Lean Without Hunger And Restore Your Vitality By Controlling Insulin
— The Future: Find Out What’s Coming

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Image Credits
Nabeel Jaitapker

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