We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kenneth Lui a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kenneth, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.
“Writer’s block/Creativity Blocks” in my humble opinion are super subjective and different for every person, that said, here are my thoughts regarding “the blankness” that happens when you stare at a white page or when ideas seem to just run out. It happens, it’s gonna happen, in a way it has to happen to point you towards a new direction. Anyone who tells you it never happens is LYING. Over the years, I have developed tips that helped me, so hopefully they can work for others. When I’ve been “blocked” in the past, I would get very nervous and neurotically think I would NEVER have another idea again. I would relay this to friends who know me and say it’s ridiculous, because the notion of never having an idea again is simply not true.
One lesson I employ is to “not berate the elves”. The “elves”? Yeah, the elves that live in your head that give you ideas. Don’t judge the ideas, don’t wish the ideas were something else, just be grateful just like any other gift you get regardless of what it is and just say “Thanks” knowing you’ll organize them later. Either they work or you can just put them in a bin for another project. If you get too “judgey” with the ideas, the elves just simply stop because you aren’t grateful. We don’t necessarily control the ideas we get. We can ask, consciously point our attention towards a direction, but the ideas are what they are as they come to us. The game is to encourage more ideas, and use the ones we get in a way that excites us and induces innovation. So whenever a student of mine says they’re “blocked”, I ask if they’re actually not getting ANY ideas, or just rejecting the ones they keep getting.
It also depends on what phase in the writing process you’re in because I actively try to avoid getting “blocked” by making sure I have all the ideas I need before going into the next phase. Before even “scripting” I make sure all the major decisions are in place so I can enjoy the ride, and focus on dialogue and “painting” descriptions. A project has to reach a saturation point where all the character arcs and turning points have already been figured out before diving into that universe with a script. It doesn’t necessarily mean I lock myself in . If I’m at a turning point, I CAN decide to make a different choice because it makes a better story in that moment. It’s like planning a trip. You want to make sure the itinerary looks like fun but when you’re actually there, you can deviate somewhere else if you feel you’ll like it’ll be better, but at least HAVE a plan you like, from there it can only get better. If you’re blocked at the scripting phase, then you may have not had all the ideas you needed to go on the journey with your characters.
Now if you’re truly blocked and NO ideas seem to be flowing, I take a break from that universe, and turn my attention to another script and see if ideas flow for that one. Invariably the “blocked idea” may get “jealous”, start behaving and offer ideas again. The overall lesson is to be gentle and kind to yourself and remember to look at that initial spark of WHY you wanted to flesh out that idea in the first place. For me it’s usually an image or a moment that puts its hooks into me, and whenever I think deeper about it, I discover something personal I want to say about life. For example, I got the idea to put the Wolf on trial for his crimes against Red Riding Hood in my short film FALSEHOOD and what inspired me was the image of the Wolf in a pin-stripped suit sitting next to his frowning attorney who hated his guts (because she’s prejudiced against wolves). THAT WAS THE KEY VISUAL FOR ME! That visual was so striking, I had to write it. And in doing so, I realized I wanted to say something about racism and prejudice.
How to deal with being blocked? Trust you’ll fix it later and find ways to keep writing. Try using music. Imagine your idea was a movie. What would the soundtrack be? Collect songs and see if any ideas or images come to mind. Writing isn’t always pen to paper, sometimes reading is also writing or drawing, painting, collecting visual mood pieces, fantasy casting, whatever that keeps you adding to that universe and gets you excited to WRITE it down. Be kind to yourself. Writing is difficult, but doing the work and sharing it with the world is what makes it great.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I write, conceptualize, shoot, and edit films and media content. It’s exciting to take an idea, design out all the permutations on paper, collaborate with other artists and see what shakes out in the final product. Whether it’s a feature film, music video, commercial, or web show, it’s always exciting to push boundaries and collaborate with other artists (it’s like rounding up specialists for a heist in Ocean’s 11!). Our feature film ARTISTS IN AGONY: Hitmen at the Coda Teahouse, was just released on streaming, a crime mockumentary dark comedy that follows 4 bungling hitmen to their ridiculous deaths (available to watch free on Tubi & also streaming on Apple TV.) It’s a madcap satire in the vein of THIS IS SPINAL TAP and WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. After an award winning festival run, it’s now out in the world, and we’re very proud of that.
We also have a new human interest series on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, and Youtube called “KICKIN IT WITH ERICK” much like Huell Howser’s California’s Gold show, but packed with “dad jokes”. Podcaster/journalist Erick Huerta gives his humorous take on fun things to do in L.A. (the type of show I’ve always wanted to do)! So look for that @elrandomhero and @mental.pictures.productions on Instagram.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Learn to make friends with other creatives. NO ONE is successful alone. We all need help and outside perspectives. Whether it’s the perfect note on something I thought was done that adds a wonderful extra layer on a project or casting an actor friend who kills in the part, you never know when someone’s specific skill set is perfect for something you’re working on. Do good work, make friends who help you do good work, repeat.
2 Learn to finish. Sometimes our endeavors don’t end the way we want, because of limitations or because of collaborators that don’t gel with you. But that doesn’t mean what you did was wrong or that it has to end, it may mean you just need MORE of it OR maybe the idea didn’t have “legs” in the first place OR is a smaller piece to a bigger project. As creators we can run in circles so if you find yourself in one, it could mean either that’s all there is OR it’s part of a bigger thing, but the trick is to “just keep swimming”. There’s no FOMO without MO to FO. So the trick is to finish your projects. Besides, maybe the point of the project was gaining a new skill or ally for an even bigger/better project in the future, but that doesn’t happen unless it’s completed.
3. Patience. Be patient with your ideas. Patient with your collaborators. Patient with yourself. Amazing things happen when you trust in yourself and others and be patient.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
ALWAYS looking for creators to collaborate with. I think it’s important to always try to grow, just go a bit out of your comfort zone and do something weird and new for yourself. I like to collaborate with artists that have a strong voice but also are trying something new so we’ll all be open to “taking a leap” and discovering something fresh. They can always connect with me through my website kennethlui.com or our instagram: mental.pictures.productions.
Contact Info:
- Website: kennethlui.com
- Instagram: mental.pictures.
productions, acrazymaker - Facebook: Mental Pictures
Image Credits
Temma Hankin
