“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse

Even with all the courage in the world, every creative will eventually run into a creative block, so we asked some of our favorite creatives to share how they overcome creative blocks.

Donough O’malley

Creativity blocks can strike anyone at anytime, which is far from ideal when you’ve got a deadline and clients to answer to. So what do I do when the brain freezes and I can’t think of anything? Nothing. Literally nothing. Sometimes trying to force your way through a block is unproductive and just increases the frustration. Read More>>

Ash Relics

I am a professional musician and songwriter. It has been many years in the making. Lyrics were the hardest for me. I had to try and fail a lot before I landed on something good that I could keep and share. It was sort of excruciating emotionally to keep trying and to be so unhappy with the results, especially when the nature of the work requires a certain level of personal vulnerability. I had many periods of avoidance, or even giving up, before I would come back eventually and try again. Read More>>

Dayshawna Brown

I feel like everyone always expects you to work through the pain or to keep creating even when you aren’t inspired but I would say the opposite. I work when I feel the most creative and when I am not, I take a break, I pick up another hobby, I clean my room, and I do anything with the time to still make it worthwhile. Read More>>

Robert Kondo

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot recently. I’m sure I’m not the first to admit to have fallen into the creator rabbit hole on Instagram, watching ways to curate your videos to make the algorithm favor you among the rest. I believe these days we are so inundated with fast-paced trends to make yourself stand out that it’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis, searching or rather waiting for the right video to tell you how to make it big. Read More>>

Eric Kurtz

On numerous occasions throughout my career as a photographer, I’ve encountered creativity blocks. Because I thrive on creativity and thinking outside the box, these blocks can be very frustrating and leave me feeling defeated. Overcoming these obstacles wasn’t about a single eureka moment, but rather a journey of trial, error, and growth – a journey that transformed not just my creative process, but also my mindset. Read More>>

Andrew Ellis

When I’m struggling with creative block, I know it’s a matter of having too high expectations for the end result. It makes it difficult to get started when you’re constantly thinking about the gap between what you want to create and where you are at this time. So I’ll find a way to put something on the page. Fill the blank page with some form of writing, design, something. It helps get my creativity flowing. Then I adjust and mold the project to as close to my desired end result as I can. Read More>>