We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daulton Reppert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Daulton, 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?
To put it mildly, writers block is purely just mental block. We all get tired, we all burn out, we definitely all get a little sick of our own work. So it’s only natural for us to hit these walls where we just can’t pump any more out. For me personally, I just don’t think about it. I don’t sit down and go “I gotta write a new piece” day in and day out. That certainly means I won’t be turning a ton of work out but it makes sure that everything I write is 100% true to me. For example, I’m currently writing a novel, I literally just sat down one day, wrote a line I liked, and said okay I’m writing a novel now. Now, any time I work on it, I only work on it when it is open in front of me. I take notes where I pin up points to return to or ideas I can implement later on but I don’t sit there beating myself down over every minute detail. On the flip side, it doesn’t cross my mind a single time throughout the day, not once. I have my writing time and that’s it, nothing before and nothing after. Same goes with my poetry, I just happen on my ideas randomly. I’ll be meandering through my day to day and it’ll hit me through conversations or politics, etc. I’ll run to my office or the bathroom and jot the whole piece down all at once. I’ll fix a line here and there later on of course, I’m not going to pretend I’m perfect by any means. But I don’t force inspiration, I don’t force the gears to turn, and thus I don’t build brick walls to slam into. I don’t get blocks because I only write what I’m feeling/thinking and fortunately I’ve been blessed with quite a lot of both. My best advice for other writers is to not take yourself too seriously. It’s poetry, not a bomb to defuse. If you’ve written even one piece you’re proud of to date, you can do it again and again, but you can’t let it get that deep, because it’s not. It’s just poetry, it’s just words on a page. We give the words meaning when we give them our experiences. You’re a writer, not a clown, you don’t have to make every word a performance, you just have to make them matter to you.
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?
Well firstly I am co-host to the nowhere as promised open mic run out of Nowhere Coffee Co. on Tilghman in Allentown. The mic is a collaboration between Nowhere Coffee and my partner’s brand, Poetry as Promised. The mic is held every third Saturday of the month. We typically feature two poets who we feel deserve some emphasis in the scene, then we follow it up with an open mic that is open to any and all. We do have a parental advisory, however, due to the nature and content of some of our poet’s writings. I am currently branching out to find my own space as a public figure, and to do my own part in helping the community, very much like my partner has and continues to do. As I mentioned before I am currently working on a novel I would consider to be fantasy/religious fiction. I also have a podcast/show that I am in the works of creating which will highlight some tough and maybe controversial subjects, but the intent is to help put eyes on the truth of certain topic while also fostering discussion and hopefully new understandings. My belief is that I can’t help in a small way at least, maybe not the world but if I can change a few minds, maybe help prevent a destructive behaviour, or even just remind somebody why they do what they do, that would be enough for me. That would be the intent of the show, so keep an eye out for that, it may be closer than we think!
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?
I think the most important thing you can do is learn. Learning is absolutely a skill and you should do as much of it as possible. Talk to those who have done what you do, take criticism with thanks rather than defense, and always self analyze. You can never learn enough and the more you do, the more you have. The most important quality I’d say is humility. We all start somewhere and nobody is a giant from day one. Absolutely be enthusiastic about your accomplishments but don’t stick them in other’s faces or try to prevent them from overtaking you. Each generation should be better than the last, but worse than the next. That’s the only way we progress, so by all means be proud of yourself, but recognize that you are not, nor will you ever be the best because there will always be somebody out there who may be just a little better, and that’s okay, because it isn’t always a competition, and we all have a place here. As far as areas of knowledge I think that one is pretty straight forward, whatever it is you’re putting your time and energy into, you should absolutely make sure that you are as knowledgeable as possible about it. Know absolutely everything there is to know on the subject and then learn more.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I think my biggest two challenges currently are the first steps of a project and knowing where to draw the line. The first big steps with a project being the things that it takes to get something in motion. I have a lot of ideas and things I want to do but little knowledge on how to get there. It’s a lot to take on when you try to flesh out an idea, bring it to motion, and build and maintain it on top of everything else you have going on. I have a lot of enthusiasm for this project show I want to start because I genuinely feel like it could do a lot of good, but starting is the hardest part. Otherwise, what I mean by knowing when to draw the line, like I said, the intention for the show is to discuss difficult and controversial topics. What I fear most is my show doing harm. I, at heart, am an avid debater. I love to learn and be knowledgeable, and the best debates are ones where you understand both sides. But that’s where it becomes touchy, because not everybody is in the place to have a conversation or debate. The last thing I want is to encourage argumentative behaviours, it should never be an argument. So where do I draw the line? What topics may be too far, what might be too hot to touch on in this day and age, etc? I want to do good, I want conversation and discussion above all else, but with some topics it may just not be possible and that’s worrisome. I fear a future in which we cannot talk to one another as people, as humankind.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: daulton_reppert
- Facebook: Daulton Reppert
- Twitter: DaultonReppert
- Other: Also affiliate with @Unraveled_influence on Instagram.
Image Credits
Photo by Florence Susanne Reppert
