“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.
Enzo De Palma
To me, there are two skills necessary to overcome writer’s block. The first one is planning. I’m always coming up with ideas and taking them down, whether it’s iPhone notes filled with story ideas or voice notes with little seeds of songs. That way, if I’m in a situation where I need an idea, I have a library of creative nuggets I can start from. Second, being creative on command is a skill by itself that you have to develop. Read more>>
Kim Suhr
Actually, I’m not sure I believe in writer’s block (which is usually a function of someone’s perfectionism rather than a failure of creativity), but I get what you’re asking: how do I weather a creative dry spell and come out the other side with a piece of writing that doesn’t make me want to climb into a hole and quit my art all together? Read more>>
Darren Paltrowitz
Sometimes you don’t want to write or create. You have a lot going on, you are tired, you don’t have the needed inspiration… any number of reasons which keep you from being in the right headspace. When I was writing my third book — plug, plug: “DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed The World” — I was working full-time, freelancing on a few projects, and pumping out the “Paltrocast” podcast and TV show on a weekly basis. Read more>>
Krish Trece
I keep my creativity alive as a tattoo artist through a variety of activities. I travel a lot for conventions and work, so I make sure to allow these trips to be a significant source of inspiration for me by saving a couple of days to visit art museums, botanical gardens and soak in the classical art forms of the city. This all plays a crucial role, as these spaces offer treasures of visual and historical stimuli that fuel my imagination. Read more>>
Kristen Lenkowski
Luckily, I’m able to tell rather quickly when writer’s block is approaching. Whether I’m writing in a session with others or by myself for my own projects – if I start to feel like I’m forcing my words to avoid a blank page, that’s how I know its time to hit the pause button. I simply have to stop and walk away completely, go make some tea, take a walk, or put on another record to clear my head. Read more>>
Jessica Bidonde
I’ve encountered this kind of creative block several times in my life. I’ve tried to force my way through it, I’ve tried taking a break but I’ve had the most success when I switch to something else creative. For example, the novel I’m currently working on kept hitting a block so I started writing short-form non-fiction essays. Read more>>
Kevin Douglas
Overcoming My Creative Block. Discovering the Block. It is critical that you can recognize when you have creativity issues and are having blocks. I realized I was creatively blocked one day when I just couldn’t think of any ideas for an exclusive blog article and video. It felt like days when it was only about an hour or two when trying to conjure up something in my mind. Read more>>
Federica Sbordone
Many years ago, while I was attending high school, I became passionate about the world of photography. I attended a 3-year course and took lots of photos with my reflex. Gradually over time, due to multiple events that occurred in my life, I detached myself from that world because I no longer found interesting stimuli. Read more>>
Jarvis (Fish Boya) Fisher
I try to change the scenery. Go places, listen to different people talk. I ask questions about how my current sound affects people. I even listen to music from different genres just to find some type of inspiration. The most important part is that I don’t force it to happen. Read more>>
Selena Xin Jin
One of the most effective strategies for me is visiting art galleries and museums. Immersing myself in the creativity of others can be incredibly inspiring. I love Los Angeles for its abundance of art galleries featuring diverse and innovative artworks. Each visit offers a fresh perspective and often sparks new ideas, helping me see my work from a different angle. Read more>>
Chad Leuci
Can’t really say I have. There’s some things as an artist that will continue to plague you, for as long as it can. When it comes to writers block in-order to overcome it you must first understand it. Writer’s Block, from my perspective, is just procrastination caused by your brain seeing writing as work, hard work too as it requires you to think. Your brain doesn’t really like working much, so it will always find an excuse not to. Read more>>
Danielle Sims
One thing to remember is everyone gets stuck. It’s a completely normal human emotion and feeling. None of us can constantly be going and doing without some sort of rest every now and again. Recently I have started working on a mindset shift that has really helped fuel my creativity and overall my productivity. Read more>>
