How to Fight a Creative Block
A newsletter about writing, art and living more creatively
Last week, I shared this tweet that seemed to resonate with people:
I think it applies to all other kinds of creative areas, too. Maybe you're working on a song that you've been rewriting forever. Or maybe you are staring at a blank canvas, unable to get started, because you're afraid you'll never get the final work to truly match the image in your head.
Here are some of the ways that I try to get past that need for perfection when I'm working on a new project:
Freewriting til my hand hurts
Sometimes I need to close the laptop and take a good OLD FASHIONED notebook and pen. I love doing this during long car and bus rides. But also at home, with a candle lit nearby. It's similar to how sometimes musicians just need to jam out with no pressure attached to get that perfect riff. And even if you don't find that gem, you never know how you might use that material in the future.
Reading, reading and more reading
I sometimes think to myself "UGH that essay is so good, I'll never write anything that good." I felt that way when I had a pitch accepted to Catapult for the first time. How could I ever reach the level of quality writing that was already published on the website? Guess what? I did the thing. In order to get myself out of my head, I went back to some of my favorite books and essays. I remembered the stories that inspired me, and the ones that I wanted to tell. It's always a good idea to go back to the material that gets you excited.
Leave it alone
On the other hand, sometimes you just need a break. I had an essay that I left alone for MONTHS. Then I brought it back out and showed it to people and got some great feedback. And, most importantly, the distance helped me see what I needed to change. What I originally wrote didn't seem as accurate; other parts, though, were right on point. Even when I had criticized them intensely during my first few drafts. Give the piece some breathing room and then see what happens.
How do you get yourself out of a creative block? Hit that reply button.
xoxo,
Your favorite small but feisty writer
Eva
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What I'm Reading
Articles:
Q&A: Anthony Hernandez's L.A. Photos Are Shown All Over the World. L.A. Museums Need to Catch Up by Carolina Miranda // via Los Angeles Times
The Utopian 'Feminist Apartment Hotels' of Charlotte Perkins Gilman by Diana Budds // via Curbed
12 Artists of the Carribean and Its Diaspora Who Are Shaping Contemporary Art by Julián Sánchez González // via Artsy
Books:
Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye (non-fiction) // A family memoir centered around the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami
Quote of the Week
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
— Helen Keller
