This week’s question has been sent in by
Heather
Q – What do you do to prevent creative block?
A – I remember watching a video where a famous Author was asked this question so often, he created some funny responses for it. One such response was: I have a bush at the bottom of my garden, and each month it grows pods. I harvest the pods, and when they dry up, they open, and inside I find some strips of people with written ideas on them, a prompt for a book, and some other suggestions.
I loved this response so much, that I started to use it, until one day, someone took me so seriously, they asked me where they could get the seeds from, so they could grow one of their own prompt-pod bushes.
Having experienced creative block / writers block before, I found it very uncomfortable, and very annoying, because I spent all day waiting to write, only to sit down, and my brain just wouldn’t brain.
So, I went online, had a hunt around, and found other people in similar situations.
Answers came thick and fast, but the best one that works for me is: I carry a small notepad and pen with me everywhere I go
Whenever I:
- Go for a walk
- Do something really boring like washing up, or ironing
- Jump in the shower
- Go shopping
- Jump on a bus
- etc, etc…
I can write any ideas and thoughts that come to me. This gets those thoughts out of my head, and into a storage device that I can open, the next time I am in front of my computer.
This is also a great idea when I am working on my current book, and have some random ideas for other books. I write them down, and forget about them, then, when I have finished the book I am working on, I open up the notebook, and start to crank out the next book, win-win!