The Wall
#YOU SHALL NOT PASS
Creative blocks come in all forms and they come often, it's not always writing, they can also come as an actor, artist, musician etc. We get stuck, hit a wall and a lot of people allow that to stop them completely. They're put off and that negativity can sink in, thoughts turn to how much the idea sucks, or they don't have the talent. What was once a small hurdle has turned into a mountain, in some cases it can also turn into a prison cell. Finding a way around these blocks can become frustrating at times, we sit there bashing our head against the wall hoping the answers will come. When nothing comes it can be very disheartening, so much so that we might just give up on that idea or concept. Allowing it to become one of the many moments where we look back on life and say to ourselves 'damn if only I followed through with that'.
#THE WEAK SPOT
Finding your own methods to overcome these blocks are very important. We are all individual so somethings that work for me might not work for you and vice versa. However with all these walls there is a weak spot, it can just take a bit of time to find. Personally for me I tend to juggle more than just one idea at a time, with multiple script ideas all on the go, along with my own acting studies these give me plenty of avenues to jump from one project to the other. This tends to prevent me getting overly frustrated with not being able to find the answers. Other things that I have found help me is to not force these ideas, but constantly think about them or talk about them with anyone who you may bounce ideas off from time to time. I generally like to go for long walks and hikes or some other form of physical activity to keep my mind fresh. As I have also mentioned in the previous blogs 'Wash, Rinse, Repeat', a break is as good as a holiday. Just have some personal time, allowing yourself to not get to caught up finding the answer, instead relax.
#BREAKTHROUGH
The less pressure you put on yourself when you come face to face with these blocks, the easier it will be to find a way through. If you give yourself time and just sit on these ideas, ponder and play with them in your head sooner or later it will click into place. These breakthroughs usually seem to give you this second wind. The answer becomes clear and you'll struggle to keep up with the flow. Over time the walls that we run into will become far easier to manage. They will never go away as that's all part of the creative process, the blocks are here to stay. Understanding how to deal with them is what we can improve on. You don't need to beat yourself up just because you are stuck, or even throw the whole idea away entirely. As long as you keep throwing ideas around in your head and don't turn to procrastination, the walls we hit no longer have the power squash your dreams.