Changing the tune

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artist, artist's block, artistic process, creating, creativity, filmmaking, filmmmaker, game changer, musician, parenting, productivity, unstuck, writer, writer's block

Tidbit #2: Change one small thing in your process to get yourself untracked.

Have you ever struggled with something you’re doing and sunk deeper and deeper into the quicksand? Maybe it’s a passage in a story, maybe it’s a project at work, maybe it’s getting your recalcitrant toddler to eat more solid food, maybe it’s figuring out how to get started on a sketch. I’m sure you can come up with your own examples.

Often we feel like we are banging our heads against the wall as we persist doggedly in our process— with increasingly frustrating results.

That happens to me too, as a writer.

As somebody who is very sound-oriented, though, I have found that just changing my music is often enough to get me untracked. For example, today, I needed to change the music I was listening to from dreamy to something more linear. On other days, I need to change it to dreamy or contemplative.

Here’s another example of getting untracked: I often marvel at how my very creative wife is able to move herself out of (rare) power struggles with our daughter by suddenly and unexpectedly making her laugh. In those situations, it’s the introduction of laughter into the process that entirely transforms it.

So, if you’re stuck on something right now, try this: think of one thing you can change in your process. 

Let’s call it a game-changer.

Maybe your game changer is changing where you sit in the room as you write. Maybe it’s changing the lighting in your room as you paint. Maybe it’s going to work on your work project in a coffee shop before you go into the office. Maybe it’s making something into a game with your child. Maybe it’s deciding to improvise with what’s left in the refrigerator instead of planning the main course.

Be adventurous and creative in what you come up with. But most of all, have fun with it.

If you already have a game-changer that works, then try this: create some reminders for yourself to utilize it. Alarms on your computer. Post-its on your sketch pad. Pictures on the refrigerator of your improviser inspirations. Tinker to find what works best for you.

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The Artist’s Way

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art, artist, creative, creative types, writer's block

Sometimes we feel pretty distant from our art and who we are, as artists.

It’s easy to see how that can happen, especially as we get up into our late 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.

Sometimes, we lose confidence in ourselves, as artists.

Or sometimes, there’s life, itself. There’s added responsibility at work and the mounting stress that often goes along with that; there are our relationships and marriages; sometimes, there are kids and the time and brain resources that they require of us; sometimes, there are aging parents to attend to; homes to furnish and repair; travel. Often, we sacrifice our creative pursuits on the altar of every other pressing need and obligation in our lives. And by the time we get around to trying to practice our art— if we get around to it at all— it can feel pretty far away and inaccessible to us.

That sometimes results in our feeling blocked and even more unsure of ourselves, as artists. And that can make our creative practice feel even more elusive and unattainable.

Fortunately, there’s Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

The Artist’s Way is a book for “creative recovery,” and its chapters consist of titles such as, “Recovering a Sense of Safety,” “Recovering a Sense of Identity,” and “Recovering a Sense of Power,” among others.

Whether you are a blocked creative in need of inspiration, someone who wants to turbo-charger her creative practice, or somebody who wants to make his entire life feel more creative, this book is a great resource.

Here’s a link to it on amazon (and I encourage you to search for it locally, too!).