Journalist, trainer and creativity coach Joanna Maxwell reveals innovative methods guaranteed to unleash creative flow.

Often we start a project full of optimism and drive, then after a while (sometimes a very short while…) the momentum slows down, and we find almost anything else is more important. Or, we sit staring at the screen or a blank sheet of paper, with a sense of rising panic.

So, what is going on here, and how do we keep the momentum going?

The short answer is that creating something new is messy...and full of confusion, dead ends, uncertainty, changes in direction, and trial and error. That IS the process, there is no neat, quick, production line way to create something new - whether it's a book, a poem or even a redecorated house.

The longer answer is yes, it’s messy, but there are ways to maximise your momentum, and to kickstart yourself when you feel blocked.

Creative block comes in two types…either it results from having too many ideas all at once (like a log jam in a river), or it comes from something (literally like a block) getting between you and your ideas, so it seems you have no ideas at all. 

Either way, the remedies are generally similar:

1. If you are blocked with a specific project, and time allows, put the project away for a week. Do not let yourself do anything connected with it at all. Do, however, make an appointment with yourself to bring it all out again in a week and get going again. Of course, you must actually keep your appointment, so best put it in your diary NOW.

2. In the meantime, if you have an impulse in any creative direction, whether similar to your usual work or not, follow your whims, and see where you end up. If there are no impulses, it doesn’t matter...

3. Notice what happens if you do follow an impulse. What looks at first like a detour may be exactly where you need to go next, or may give you information or ideas that will help you when you resume your project.

4. Do something in the area of creativity each day, stay in touch with your creative side - even if it is just looking at a painting or listening to music or reading a good book, or cooking up a storm.

5. Find some simple and mechanical tasks – housework, cleaning out a cupboard, organising your office or studio, cleaning out the shed, gardening. These tasks work on multiple levels – they get you moving, let you start and finish something (with the sense of achievement that comes from that), they tire you out, take your mind off things, occupy your ‘busy’ brain and let the rest roam free…

6. Get moving – dance, walk, swim, jiggle, shake, breathe. Believe it or not, blocks exist in the body and you can shift them by moving your body and letting them find a way out.

7. Stop for a moment, relax, and explore what you are feeling. In the case of block from too many ideas, is it overwhelm, pressure, frustration, indecisiveness, anxiety? In the case of block from too few ideas, is it anxiety, panic, frustration? Whatever it is, accept the feeling and make friends with it. You can journal, walk with it, breathe through it, meditate…there are many ways through this, but naming the feeling and accepting it are crucial.

8. When you feel ready to get back to your project (or if you have a deadline and can’t wait for inspiration to strike) then try Micromovements™. These were developed by a writer (Sark) and rely on a well-known concept. When trekking in the Himalayas, I was told that the way over a (seemingly endless) mountain crossing was to keep moving, just taking ‘baby steps, baby steps’. It’s the same with any project, just do a very little bit of it (open a book, find that phone number, sharpen the pencil) then leave it for an hour or a day, then do the next step and so on. (Simple, yes, but it really does work.)

9. Use the energy of the creator, not the editor. We need access to both the voice of creation and the voice of editing/discernment, but there is a time and a place for each….and now is the time to allow the creative impulses full rein, leaving the editor for quite a different day (or month).

10. If your block is of the ‘too many ideas’ kind, you may need to release some of the thoughts (by writing a letter, or in your journal, or dialoguing with your other hand, or one of the physical movement  suggestions above). I find listening to music (the kind without words) often seems to unravel the spaghetti-like strands in my mind and let them flow again.

11. Whatever else you do, don’t talk endlessly about the block or focus on it as an issue – it just gives it energy and importance. Find something more compelling to do for a few days, then slowly, slowly, start again.

12. I’ve left the most serious weapon for last…a devilish technique of Julia
 Cameron’s called…READING DEPRIVATION. Yes, for one week, you don’t read a newspaper, magazine, book, letter, you don’t watch TV, chat on the phone. The brilliant theory behind it is that if you are not taking in stimuli from the outside world, you will have to dredge up some of your own. Cold turkey, yes, but it can work wonders. (If this sends shivers down your spine, start with a weekend, or even a day.)

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About
Joanna Maxwell is a freelance journalist, trainer and creativity coach. She has become acquainted with writer’s block (and its well-travelled cousin, procrastination) during her many ‘night before the deadline’ writing sessions.
Please get in touch by email, or check out her LiveInColour website, for more resources. Sign up through the website or email for a free monthly newsletter, full of tips for creative types.
Web:      www.liveincolour.com.au
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