One of the most difficult things, I think, when you are a creator (of content, a writer, a painter, or any other kind of creator) is dealing with that moment when you are sitting in front of your favourite medium and it remains completely blank. Overcoming writeI can’t speak for others, but apparently some creators don’t experience the anxiety of the blank page. And that’s a strength. I have been trying for many years to find a remedy for this anxiety.
After years of practice, and blank pages, creation and fighting my demons, I think that the myth of the artist who has inspiration – or not – is a very nice story… based on mistaken beliefs. The belief that we cannot access, not inspiration itself, but what blocks inspiration, and that we cannot help, overcome, or find ways to avoid the blockage seems to me to be what maintains the illusion that inspiration only comes when it wants to.
Far be it from me to say that this is easy. Far be it from me to say that there is never anything in art that is a little mystical, in the sense of the unfathomable depth of the human being. I am simply saying that when we are subject to this anxiety, we can move forward, progress, and help ourselves so that this anxiety of the blank page returns less and less.
Because, for me, creating is not an option. It is a need. And the anxiety of the blank page is torture.
My tips for overcoming writer’s block
So, for many years now, I’ve been trying to find little hacks to help my brain get around this difficulty. I have three main ones, depending on what I would call my ‘state of blockage’.
The first, when the blockage isn’t total, is to start small. Just start. Don’t try to create the work of the century. Don’t clutter your mind, don’t set the bar too high. If I want to write, turning on the computer, picking up a pen and paper, is the first step. If I want to paint, I get out my sketching materials and jot down my ideas. Then get started on something. If I don’t have any ideas, just drawing a circle on a piece of paper, then a small landscape, allows me to let go. My mind then begins to wander on its own. And the process begins.
But sometimes the block is more serious. Even starting small is inconceivable. So, rather than staring at a blank page, I do some physical activity. The best thing is to go for a walk. Walking frees the mind and ideas start to flow. Not necessarily good ideas, sometimes my brain goes round and round in circles about something that happened during the week. But it’s always better than staying stuck.
And when the block is total, you might ask? There’s no point in fighting it. When I fight it, the block persists and I fall into a spiral of guilt that makes the problem worse. After many years, I’ve come to understand that in these cases, I have to do something completely different. I do some housework, or treat myself to a coffee and biscuits, or anything else that requires minimal effort. This helps to defuse the anxiety and get back to phase 1: start small.
And now, the next step
Recently, I realised that I needed to go even further. Until now, I had always thought that it was my mind that was driving the process. So I learned these techniques, albeit a little shaky, to help my mind. But it seems that the blockage goes deeper than that, as I mentioned in my previous article, “Art, trauma, catharsis“.
It seems that when I am in a state of total blockage, it is my body that does not want to move forward. My mind is powerless to do anything about it. This is the state of shock I mentioned in my previous article.
The next step for me today, in order to overcome this fear of the blank page, is to find a way to bring to the surface the beliefs that have been ingrained in my body since I was a child. The belief that I am inadequate. That everything I do is pointless. That kind of belief. My conscious mind manages to regulate these thoughts, but my body never verbalises them. All that remains is for me to transform this latent anxiety into a conscious state, to allow it to express itself in words.
It’s a big undertaking, but I believe in it. If you have any tips for moving forward more serenely, please share them in the comments!