We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful A. Erin Walker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with A. Erin below.
Hi A. Erin, 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?
It depends on what is causing a block for me. When I notice my creativity isn’t flowing, I like to perform internal and external check-ins. Is my current environment not conducive to my creative process? Are there energies around me making it difficult to tune into my creative flow? Is there something within me that needs to be addressed and is causing me to feel disconnected from myself, and therefore my art? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, I make changes in the appropriate area to resolve the disconnect as best I can.
But also, sometimes I’m unable to pinpoint the cause of blockages. Sometimes I just feel blocked “for no reason”, and in those moments I have learned it’s best to just hold space for myself and not force it. There are times when you can just start and magic will happen, but there are also times when it just isn’t the right time and that’s okay. Maybe it’s meant for rest or to go out and experience new things, both of which have also ultimately helped me overcome creative blocks as well.
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?
My name is A. Erin Walker (Andee Walker), and I am a writer and creative consultant.
I believe the most special part about what I do is having the ability to cultivate positive and enriching connections with both readers and fellow creatives.
Readers have expressed how my art has motivated them to follow their dreams, helped them discover more about themselves, and showed them they are not alone in navigating the ups and downs of life’s challenges. As a consultant, I have formed such deep connections with clients, watching them blossom in their creative journeys from uncertainty to immeasurable confidence in their abilities to pursue and finish their passion projects.
Whether through the art I share or by helping others share art of their own, it is always special to experience how transparency in creative processes allows connections of substance to organically form. We are able to see ourselves in each other and realize we are not as alone in this world as we may tend to feel.
My most recent project released last year is titled Fragile II, and is the second installment of the Fragile series, a collection of poetry and short story books focused on self-actualization, defining and cultivating love, and transformation through healing. I have also recently released the Fragile collection of affirmation cards, mindfully created to positively affirm and guide you through stages of the same themes of the books: self-actualization, defining and cultivating love, and transformation through healing.
For more information on Fragile II or any of my books, as well as creative consulting, writing/editing services, and digital products, check out aerinwalker.com. And for more information on the Fragile collection of affirmation cards, check out Januaryave.com or January Ave on Etsy!
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?
The desire to learn, willingness to ebb and flow, and the passion to keep going.
Advice I have for anyone early in their journey, especially as a creative, would be to keep your vision flexible in regards to how the unfolding of your dreams may look. We may be bound to reach the destination, but when the journey does not match how we imagined that can sometimes deter us from continuing forward.
To develop these qualities, I would advise you to practice altering your perception. For example, you can see a complex process as a chance to expand your knowledge rather than an inconvenience. Or unexpected challenges as opportunities to exercise your flexibility rather than setbacks. You get to learn and grow as you pursue something you wholeheartedly desire for yourself, realize your ability to shift gears regardless of unforeseen circumstances, and strengthen the trust you have for yourself in seeing things through and finishing what you start. And with these lessons, you recognize the value in learning, being willing to ebb and flow with the process rather than control it, and being passionate enough about what you are pursuing to not give up on it and yourself. These qualities make all the difference in your journey and have been the most impactful for me by far.
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?
I am always open to collaborating with fellow creatives, preferably writers and content creators. Let’s partner on projects or simply stay connected and support each other in our creative endeavors! Reach out to me on Instagram at a.erinw or by email at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aerinwalker.com
- Instagram: @a.erinw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aerinwalkerwrites
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aerinwalkerwrites/
Image Credits
Feature Photo: Angela Ledyard Photography
