I’ve found myself struggling through a bit of a dry spell with my writing recently. Call it what you will: COVID stress, cabin fever, writer’s block, etc. The fact of the matter is lately I’ve been feeling unmotivated, uninspired, and even a little nauseated by the idea of spending one more afternoon sitting in front of my computer trying in vain to write something that matters to me.
Lately, I’ve been flashing back to high school, where a notebook was always within immediate reach. Free period? I’d be writing. Finished a test early? I’d be writing. Waiting in the cafeteria before the day even started? I’d be writing.
And now I’m starting to wonder where she went—that young woman who was hesitant to label herself a writer, yet was always writing. Today, she’s become the somewhat older woman who finally calls herself a writer and only sometimes writes.
Perhaps that’s part of the reason for my sudden lack of enthusiasm: by calling myself a writer I have inevitably made writing my job, when until recently it was purely a hobby. And a hobby is something you do for fun. Something that sparks a more playful side of you and sets things into motion. For many of us, having a hobby is a sure sign we’re human, and that we have hopes and dreams and goals and things we aspire to be. Hobbies inspire us to live.
A job, however, is something most of us have merely to survive.
And confusing or mixing the two is sure to cause some friction; seeing a hobby become something done out of necessity is undeniably taxing, even if it is something every serious artist has to get used to at some point.
But, frankly, I think the more applicable reasoning for my dry spell is this: like everything else, even creativity takes practice. Our minds are muscles that need to be flexed on occasion just like any other. And from what I’ve seen, it’s probably the most neglected feature of any living adult. Only in the last few weeks have I been able to dedicate any time to creativity—at least, since the glory days of high school and early college—and it’s only because we’ve all been forced into quarantine.
It happens to all of us: we grow older, we become busy. Dealing with the typical requirements like job, bills, groceries, student loans, health insurance, car insurance, politics, and just trying to make it through another day without suffering a nervous breakdown. But if we’re not careful, that endless cycle takes more control of our lives than it’s worth, nagging us with one constant thought: Survive.
Survive.
Survive.
Survive.
I’ve spent too much of the last couple years of my life just trying to survive. So, I’ve forgotten how to live; I’ve forgotten how to let my creativity flow in its own time. It seems like something so simple to jump back into, like riding a bike, but even if you remember how to ride the bike you still might find yourself out of breath a lot more frequently.
And so, I push on. Because for me, it’s either write, or do nothing. And I want to write. I find motivation. I make my own inspiration. And for the sake of my fellow writers who are also dealing with a “funk” right now, I do this in one of three ways.
- I live by honesty being the best policy. When I have absolutely no idea what to write about, I write about how I have nothing to write about (as reflected by this post). When I struggle to write an emotional song or poem because I cannot find the right words, I write about how my words are useless. And when I’ve been staring at that blinking cursor for just too long, I admit to myself that maybe it’s time for a break.
- I go easy on myself when I feel like doing nothing. Because there’s not having the time to be creative, and then there’s stepping back from something you’ve been putting too much time into. Often, we become too close to our projects. So close, in fact, they might start losing their meaning to us. These are the days when “nothing” is acceptable. Why do you think we’ve maintained the concept of weekends for so long? All work and no play makes my Night Crew a bunch of dull ding-dongs, and if we’ve reached a point when creativity has become our job, it’s even more necessary to find some kind of play away from the play.
- I consider a change of scenery. Like Mr. Keating in Dead Poet’s Society, I sometimes feel the urge to stand on my desk to better gauge my surroundings. That on its own drives my creative mind, but changing the scenery can also help by getting me out of the house. If ideas are stagnant when I’m in my room with the door closed, they will surely flow better being out and about, finding a new favorite spot to sit and gazing at the world with a fresh perspective. And, once restrictions lift, meeting new people and going new places.
Like all things, creativity takes practice. Start with baby steps, and move from there. And if you get stuck, find different ways to jump-start your brain. Because creativity is not something you either have or you don’t. Everyone has the potential to put something in this world that isn’t already here. It’s only a matter of time and patience.
— C.M.
Night Owls, what techniques or tricks do you have for exercising your creativity?
