Part 5: Overcoming Creative Obstacles
Your creative process should do more than just help you create; it should also help you get “unstuck.” Every creative project, no matter how thoroughly you’ve planned it out, meets a roadblock eventually. This thought alone deters many aspiring creators, who become discouraged before they even start.
It’s important to remember that every creative person gets stuck. It doesn’t matter how prolific they are; creative work is hard and sometimes we just don’t know how to proceed. Sometimes a roadblock is a point in a novel that just… isn’t… working. Or you feel suddenly… unmotivated.
I personally struggle with the “messy middle” of things. I love the starting point where I can plan and visualize, and I live for the finish line. But when I’m in the throes of something, I tend to lose myself and not in a good way. A few years ago, I went to a live Radiolab show featuring Radiolab founder and host, Jad Abumrad. He gave one of my all-time favorite talks about creativity that I share with the RPG Writer Workshop and all of my mentees. It’s called “The German Forest.” (You can listen to it here, or read the transcript.) The gist of this talk: Abumrad was working on a Radiolab episode about Wagner’s operas. The episode narrative was just not coming together. Abumrad said that he felt like he was getting lost in the German Forest. He felt this "gut churn" of anxiety and uncertainty. Eventually, it came together and the experience taught him that getting lost in the forest was an indicator that he was on the right track. Now, he considers that stage vital to his creative process.
"When I heard the Wagner thing on the radio later, I was like, “Whoa, somewhere in the middle of that trauma, I think I found my voice. There’s a real correlation between time spent in the German forest and these moments of emergence. And to be clear, the German forest changes. That sense of, the work is just too big to put my head around this, how am I gonna do this, that never changes. But what does change is that the terror gets reframed for you, because now, you’ve made it out a few times. You can see over the treetops, and into the future, to where, there you are, you’re still there, you’re still alive."
- Jad Abumrad, Radiolab
The key here is getting lost and then finding our way again. If you take nothing else from this series, that’s what I hope sticks with you. Creative work is challenging. Your process should be a lantern to help guide your way through the darkest parts.
So to help, I’ve identified some of the most common creative obstacles and some suggestions about overcoming them. This is not a comprehensive list, of course, but I think you’ll likely identify with at least one of these.
If you’re feeling: overwhelmed
The number one issue that new creatives encounter is making the scope of their project too big. (Hence why scope is so important!) You might have set your heart on writing a whole trilogy of novels, but have yet to complete a short story. You sit down to outline and feel overwhelmed and then discouraged.
What you can do: Scale your project back to the very bare minimum. There’s no reason why you can’t write a trilogy, but consider starting smaller than that and building up to the goal so that you can make progress. Otherwise, these great ideas will remain just that — ideas in your head.
If you’re feeling: anxious or depressed
First of all, you’re not alone in feeling this way. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder that I struggle with every day! Also, there’s a global pandemic going on. Soooo…
What you can do: Be kind to yourself. Write a positive affirmation, even if it feels cheesy to do so. Do one small thing for your project, just to feel like you’ve made an inkling of progress. Listen to some songs you like, reread a favorite book or rewatch a favorite movie, and immerse yourself in creativity without feeling pressured to produce.
If you’re feeling: uninspired or out of ideas
Not every idea sets our creative hearts on fire. The trick with creative work is to isolate the part of an idea that does truly excite and inspire you. You do not have to pursue an idea because you think it will “sell well” or because it’s what your chosen market wants. I can tell you from personal experience that embracing your own creative vision means that you produce better work and attract the readership/audience that you actually want.
What you can do: Think about your favorite pieces of art: games, books, movies, illustrations, etc. What about it do you love? Try reimagining that same piece. If it’s a book, how would you have written it differently? If it’s a game, what different outcomes would you have included? Use existing media to jumpstart your own ideas and identify what YOU really enjoy and want to create.
If you’re feeling: impostor syndrome
Even though impostor syndrome often manifests as something that makes us feel “less than worthy or talented,” it’s actually a manifestation of our ego. When we feel that way, we’re putting way too much emphasis on what other people think of us and our work. We’re assuming that people are always thinking about us and judging our worth and skill. (They aren’t.) It’s not that creatives shouldn’t be mindful of how their work is received, just that this worry shouldn’t be so overwhelming that you don’t ever complete or share anything. You’re among peers and we all want you to succeed. I give you permission to believe in yourself!
What you can do: Stop thinking about what other people think. We spend way too much time on that anyway. YOU have taste and know what you think is “good” work! Focus on your project for your own sake. This mentality is necessary for anyone who wants to pursue creative work in general. When we write because we love it, the rest — money, audience, accolades — is just the cherry on top. It also softens the blow when a creative project isn’t received in the way we wanted or expected. The real reward is exploring our creative self.
If you’re feeling: blank page paralysis
Can’t get words on the page? Sometimes having that blank page staring back at you is a deterrent. The same goes for artists or creatives of any kind; starting can be its own obstacle! How do you make that first step?
What you can do: For writers, here’s a trick I used to do with my college students, many of whom hated writing essays with a passion. I’d write down a few simple questions: The student would use their phone to record us having a conversation. I’d ask them questions like, “What’s your essay about? How are you researching this topic? What is your current hypothesis?” and they’d answer verbally. They’d then transcribe the audio file and use those words as the start of their draft! Writing is almost always easier when we have actual words on the page to build upon. I encourage you to try this trick with a friend or family member. The same concept can be applied to any creative work. In general, the main takeaway here is that you shouldn’t start from scratch if you don’t have to. Sometimes we can trick our brains into starting by giving it something to build upon.
If you’re feeling: like you have too many ideas and not enough time
It’s just a fact that we definitely don’t have enough hours in the day. As creatives, we come up with new and exciting ideas all the time and often feel like, “If only I didn’t have a job/responsibilities, I’d be a famous creator by now with all of these projects completed!” Honestly, that's probably not the case.
What you can do: Try to explore your many ideas in little bursts and projects. A few years ago, I had about five ideas for science fiction novels I really wanted to write. I decided, instead, to write each idea as a short story. I kept the stories fairly short so that I could just get the basic concept out onto paper to see if it was worth exploring. Upon reflection, I realized that most of these ideas worked fine as short stories. There was one I decided to keep for a future project since there was more I wanted to tell, but for the most part, I got the ideas out of my head and out of my system, and compiled them in a little chapbook just for fun. This freed up my mind to come up with new ideas and projects, and I didn’t feel beholden to ideas that I didn’t pursue. Not every idea is a great idea. Sometimes we just need to honor it as an idea, explore it a bit, and then let it be so that we can think of something better.
Activity and Worksheet
This week’s worksheet is similar to the first one we did about your creative myths. You can use your myths to identify potential obstacles in your process. Use the worksheet to identify obstacles you’ve encountered before, or expect to encounter, for your next project. Then, document a strategy for how you can overcome this obstacle. Although this isn’t a fail-proof system, being cognizant of our own pitfalls sets us up for success!
If you want to share your project and project scope, pop into my Discord channel!