It’s always daunting starting a new piece of work. What’s even more daunting though is getting halfway through one and running out of ideas. For me, this brings about an abundance of self-doubt. If I’m not careful, I can spend an hour or two sitting and staring at the screen, wondering why the little electric bolts of inspiration aren’t firing in my brain like they should be. I’m going to go through a couple of reasons why this might be the case and how I personally go about solving them.
Very often, I find the main reason I can’t think properly is that I’m thirsty. It’s as simple as that. I don’t like having a glass of water on my desk because my elbows tend to attack anything they fancy and I’m scared I’ll spill the glass all over my equipment, so this means I have to actively remember to get a drink.
In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans ~ Kahlil Gibran
Playing a different instrument can help shift the block. If I’m writing on an instrument I know well, like guitar, my hands want to do what they want to do without any thought for the music they’re creating. They get stuck in patterns and shapes and are quite happy to stay there. Writing on a different instrument forces me to really think carefully about each individual note. Writing with no instrument at all and notating everything straight onto paper is another way of doing this, with the added benefit of seeing your music form visually.
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence ~ Leopold Stokowski
If I’m not in a rush to get the piece finished, going for a walk can clear my brain and get things moving. I avoid listening to music and make sure I allow my brain time to wander. That mass you have in your skill is great at problem-solving and if you give it enough space, it’ll happily work on your problem in the background without you even needing to apply yourself. All you have to do is enjoy the scenery around you. The reason I avoid listening to music is that I don’t want to be pushed into a stylistic corner and end up writing an 8th note rhythm just because I listened to Blink-182.
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar ~ Lord Byron
Getting past writer’s block seems to be mostly about breaking the cycle. And if you can’t break the cycle, just write. Just do it. Remember, 1 is always > 0, so you may as well get something down, even if it’s not perfect.
If you have any more tips on getting past writer’s block, leave a comment. I’d love to hear them!