“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.

Carolyn Wiley

You ever sit down at your keyboard…stare at that blinking cursor…and feel like your brain has packed its bags and gone on vacation? Let me just tell ya, I don’t believe in writer’s block. Truth is, what we call “writer’s block” is really fear wearing a fancy hat—fear that our words won’t measure up. And you know what the pros know? That first draft won’t be good enough. But obedience over perfection means you write anyway. Read More>>

David Woodruff

I keep a wide array of creative projects going at any given time. If one seems to slow down or I feel blocked creatively, I allow myself to set it aside and work on one of the other things until my interest is resparked. I guess I’d call it a type of compartmentalization. Read More>>

David Fore

I’ve only experienced writer’s block once in my life. Usually, creative ideas have always been within reach during my time as a writer and songwriter. All my creative friends used the downtown during COVID to write. Not so with me. I found the COVID-19 lockdown scary and emotionally draining, and it made me unproductive. I couldn’t write songs, and I didn’t have the creative energy to finish episodes for my “Bubble Puppy Bites” Substack.  Read More>>

Gabriela

The main way I have been able to overcome Creativity Blocks is by simply taking breaks. Sometimes the break is a lot longer than what I anticipated, but I feel it’s very necessary. Once I am able to focus a little more without it feeling forced, I slowly plan the new pieces I want to make – rather than immediately jumping to the first thing I think of. The crafts I make is a valued hobby of mine, and the last thing I want to do is begin to dislike it by forcing myself to make something just to make it. I have also found it helpful to look through the pieces I have already made – Read More>>

Marlena Urban

Whenever I hit a creative block, I create random things that don’t make sense. When I let my ego leave the studio and mindlessly create whatever feels right, I am not hindered by my judgment of what is considered “good” or “bad” art. Instead, I hold a sketch to the same level of respect and attention as I would with a formal painting. I’m also not afraid to completely change, dismantle, or ‘destroy’ something I’m working on to change my creative direction. Read More>>

Claire Yoo

While I still experience creative blocks from time to time, I often find myself returning to the place where my creativity initially began: books and animated TV shows/movies. When I feel stuck or uninspired, revisiting new and old stories that originally sparked my passion helps me reconnect with why I chose this path and reignites the excitement I first felt. I love discovering new techniques and narratives that help expand my thinking and inspire fresh ideas.  Read More>>

Bob Ludke

I have published two books (Transformative Markets and Case Studies in Disability-Driven Innovation) and a number of 20+ page white papers on topics ranging from sustainable investing best practices to advancing disability employment. I have developed three methods to overcome and beat writers block. Read More>>

Jonathan Borthwick

The ebb and flow of creativity in any artform is something to be expected. Because so much of our personal experience of life informs our creative process, it very rarely seems to stay consistent for any artist over the duration of their career or life. What is happening in your personal life, or your work life has a large impact on creative inspiration as well as creative motivation. The pendulum swings away from and towards each as we go through our lives, those swings back and forth contribute to our artist’s ideas and concepts, the steady middle point in which the pendulum settles in is where that work is primed to be done. Read More>>

Grace Martin Franklin

Over time, I’ve come to see creative blocks not as failures, but as signs that something needs to shift. For me, they often feel silent and lonely. I start to feel like my usual instincts have gone still because my mind is overloaded with everything else life demands.

Instead of trying to force an idea, I focus on reconnecting with the process. I set up a few small surfaces and just start painting. No sketch, no plan, no color palette in mind, just movement. That practice alone often unlocks something. A single brushstroke, a texture, even the act of mixing paint can pull me in a new direction, and that’s usually enough to get things flowing again. Read More>>

Xuecong Wang

I hit an artist’s block while preparing for my thesis show. Because of its importance, I was determined to present the best of my work. I threw myself into research, chasing a grand, impactful concept. But the more I explored abstract ideas, the less confident I became about bringing them to life. For a month or two, in the most critical stage of preparation, I hardly worked on anything. I was scared, stressed, and aimless, like a bowstring wound so tight it was about to snap. Read More>>