Tips for Overcoming Creative Block

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When experiencing creative block, it’s important that you don’t browbeat yourself. Lulls in creative energy are necessary to the overall creative process, and even though the lack of creative energy can be frustrating and psychologically painful, it’s important to move toward viewing these periods as times of growth. The in-between times is when creativity gets its start.

​It’s important to have a lot of thinking time – and thinking time happens when you least expect it to happen. When experiencing a creative block, try these helpful tactics for working through it:

• Come up with many solutions – not just one. Try to come up with a list of 20 ideas.
• Look for patterns in episodes of your creative block.  When a creative block occurs, take notes and see if a trend emerges.
• Draw blindly for half a minute. You can’t criticize the results. Give yourself a theme. This can work for free writing, too. Without having expectations, you can break through to being able to work on your blocked project.
• Redefine the problem to find it more compelling. By looking at your project with from an unfamiliar angle, and a new perspective, you may be surprised that the block will become dislodged.
• Dirty your canvas. Put an ink-stained hand print in the middle of the problematic work. This will give you something to fix.
• Keep a sketchbook or notebook. Always carry it with you.