Overcoming the BLOCK

We’ve all been there – staring at a blank canvas, a blank page or a mound of unformed clay, unsure of how or where to begin. Your eyes start to glaze over and you feel deep down inside that your trusty muse has chosen today to abandoned ship. As the paint starts to stiffen on the palette or the clay starts to dry and crack or the blank page stares into the depths of your soul, you can almost feel yourself starting to lose it. That weird feeling in the pit of your stomach is spreading and for some reason you’re starting to breathe a little differently, not quite hyperventilating, but off still the same. Soon, like a man crawling through the desert, your mind starts to wander and you find yourself thinking about anything other than your art, regardless of how hard you try to concentrate, and if you really have been in this position before, then you know that there is real life pain behind the intensity of your concentration. Before long, you’re getting a headache from furrowing your brows so tightly and your neck, shoulders and back feel as if Atlas (like your muse) has taken the day off and chose you to keep the world from spinning off its axis while he heads to the beach.

In the writing world, we call this “writer’s block,” but it’s something that affects practically everyone who creates for a living. So, since Artsy Avenue is a collective of artists of various trades, we’ll just call this problem “THE BLOCK.” Why the all-caps, you ask? Because if you’ve ever experienced it, you know THE BLOCK is so hardcore, lower case letters just won’t cut it.

What Brings On THE BLOCK?

THE BLOCK affects everyone differently, but odds are there’s something in your life that’s causing the bricks to be stacked up between you and your creativity. It could be caused by a problem within a relationship, financial troubles, the loss of a loved one or pet, car troubles or it can even be caused by negative people using their jealousy to try and bring you down to their level.

THE BLOCK loves it when we have challenges to overcome because it knows our minds can’t focus 100% on the creative task at hand, no matter how hard we try. So, it keeps pushing those problems to the forefront of our minds until there’s no point in keeping up the fight because our minds have become so clouded and convoluted that we convince ourselves that nothing good is going to come from trying today anyway.

So That’s It, THE BLOCK Wins?

Hell no, THE BLOCK doesn’t win! We are Creatives! We persevere! It’s what we do!

Beating THE BLOCK (or, What Your Muse Doesn’t Want You to Know)

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – your muse needs you just as much as you need him (or her) and at its core, the muse is a jealous thing. Plain and simple, you need your muse to keep THE BLOCK at bay, meanwhile; your creativity is the only thing keeping your muse alive, so in reality, unless you work together, you each suffer and THE BLOCK will win.

But what’s a creative to do when their muse has gone on sabbatical?

The great American poet, William Stafford, once said, "There is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough." While many may jump up and wonder aloud why William Stafford is suggesting we produce sub-par work, that’s not really what he’s saying at all. What Stafford is implying is that even if you know what you’re doing isn’t your best work; you still keep writing, painting, molding, etc. You don’t stop; you persevere! You can always go back and fix what you don’t like later, or, maybe, just maybe, some small part of what you did create might be a nugget of gold you can use in another project at a later time. Maybe it’s a single line of crystal clear prose, or maybe it’s a new painting technique that you just came up with. By choosing to forge onward, you not only keep THE BLOCK at bay, but you also show your muse who’s boss and that you are going to continue on with or without him or her.

Remember when I said the muse was a jealous bugger? Well, do this often enough and you’ll discover that your muse takes fewer and fewer vacations.

The key to beating THE BLOCK and finding success in your art is the same – don’t give up. Plant your butt in your chair and create! Everyday! Sure, you’re going to have some days when you’re not 100% pleased with what you produced, but you PRODUCED, baby. And that’s the most important thing.

Here are a few other tips for overcoming THE BLOCK:

• When you’re feeling stagnant and uninspired, get up and go for a walk. Head outside or hit the treadmill for a few minutes to get your blood pumping. Fresh oxygen to the brain works wonders for creativity and it helps to wake up your sleepy muse.
• Try something new. If you’re a photographer and you’re in a rut, try painting. If you’re a painter, try writing poetry. When you open up yourself to new experiences, you’re igniting a new part of your brain and that works wonders for improving your creativity.
• Carry a small notebook and a pen everywhere you go. If you see a beautiful bird, draw a quick rendition of it. If you are enjoying the most delicious taco you’ve ever eaten, capture the experience by writing down the details. Inspirations are like lightning bugs; make your notebook the glass jar you use to collect them.
• Don’t want to carry a notebook around? Use the camera on your mobile phone. Snap a quick shot of a beautiful flower or catch the sun as it glints off the surface of a nearby pond. Also handy on most mobile phones is the voice recorder. Use it to capture ideas that come at the most inopportune times or to capture vivid descriptions of something that stirs something inside of you.