“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” – John Maynard Keynes
Sometimes, getting out of a creative block requires escaping from the gravitational pull of old ideas, other times it might require diving into them to get re-inspired. Below, we’ve shared a variety of perspectives, insights and advice on how to overcome creative blocks.
Robert Casavant
Creativity blocks have been a challenge for me for as long as I’ve been creating. In my role as a music producer, I have a unique relationship with creativity blocks, as I have to overcome and manage not only my own blocks, but also those of artists I’m collaborating with. I find it most frequently pops up for myself when I try to originate new ideas through composition. I usually refer to this as “beat block” as it presents itself while making foundational instrumentals or “beats” for artists to build from. Read more>>
Mark Dalbeth
Usually when I have writers block it’s because I’ve become complacent with the environment I’m in. The music I’m listening is all very similar, the places & work is all the same. So I force myself to find different environments, see new places, listens to different sounds, to get some new ideas going. Read more>>
Arna Miller
This is a tough one. I’m in a block right now. But I know it will pass. That’s the most comforting thought, is to remember that it will pass and to not be hard on myself. Everything in life comes in waves or phases, the moon, the seasons, a life. There are so many factors that are out of our control, and this is one of them. No one can say exactly where creativity comes from, but we can notice how it works. I can’t force it, I can just create conditions for it to come in, and be ready to express it when it does. Read more>>
Andre Benjamin
It’s interesting because creativity blocks and how we perceive them, it’s all internal. I have the perception that over so much time I’ve hindered myself rather than propelled myself forward because I look at creativity as something that I need to feel emotionally. I needed to be in a space of feeling creative, I needed to be inspired, I needed to have someone inspire me, I needed to be motivated, and I needed someone to fan the flame of motivation. Read more>>
Andre Ferguson
I never experienced writers block, I just create art everyday and on the days that I don’t create anything I watch tv and film that inspires me. Read more>>
