Creative Blockage

[Funderbunk]

I suspect most people here have had creative blockages - I've got a pretty heinous one right now that seems to have murdered my inner idea fountain, shot my inner writer, broke the arms and tools of my inner artist and even snapped the strings on my inner guitar-player. Right now I have a bit of free time on my hands, but I can't seem to get anything done. Assuming most of you have had them - do you have any ways you like to deal with them? Any advice? I figure lots of people have this from time to time, so let's just make this a general thread on the topic.

[Gar]

Writers block is annoying, try talking through what you want to do next in your comic with a friend who you can trust to discard your bad ideas and who won't be annoyed when you reject their bad ideas.

You could also try 'Marvel Method', where you draw the art first and then go back in and do the dialogue. Having the facial expressions and postures as reference for your writing can help a lot.

If you've lost your artist mojo, I recommend getting high doing some shitty doodles as a warm-up. Maybe even an entire shitty doodle comic that makes no sense. Even if it doesn't work as a warm-up exercise, at least you've got a filler on your hands.

[Rob]

I don't usually have this kind of problem much.... too much going on upstairs/living in my head. But I find that long stretches of free time can often be an enemy to my imagination so I try and keep busy if I know I need to be creative.

Huge internet crawls focusing on current events and politics. Reading a good book (choose one you are sure is going to be good) getting out to watch a movie.

Even if what you originally produce is a ripoff of the material you are sampling it primes the pumps for your own stuff.

[Gibson]

I give this advice all the time, yet no one ever takes it. For a short while, a few days maybe, not more than a week, stop trying to write anything at all. Don't even think about it. Sometimes this is enough on its own to get the gears greased, but if not, then set yourself a specific time, an appointment on a regular basis that you MUST keep. Be realistic about it, don't go for three hours every day or anything crazy, but something you could meet depending on what your writing patterns are. A good medium is an hour every two or three days.

During this time, and you can even make up a fun and dorky nickname for it if you want, you allow yourself only to write. Doesn't have to be good, doesn't have to be legible even, the point isn't to produce finished work, it's to exercise your writing muscles. If it helps, think of it like an athlete running drills or a musician jamming. Hell, you don't even have to write during this time, but you can't do anything else. This is the important part; no phone, no television, no MMO, no playing with the dog, no Webcomics Community forum, nothing. If you aren't writing during your scheduled time, you are staring at the wall.

There's also a trick called Morning Papers that some writers use, where they get up in the morning and write for 15-20 minutes or so. The idea is that it gets the creative mindframe moving early and it stays with you the whole day. It's not important what you write, just like the previous suggestion, even if it turns out to be complete garbled nonsense. The importance is on the physical act of making words.

Everyone I know who has tried one or both of these things to get over a block has gotten over their block. Granted, since it sounds boring and chore-like to make writing an appointment, the number of people I know who've done it isn't high, but still, it does work.

(PS. This is good advice for writers who aren't suffering a block too)

[amanda]

I tend to take Gibson's route - stop trying to force it.  I'll throw everything into a different hobby (like dancing - yay blues).  After a few days, I'll have a conversation or experience that resonates and inspires me to write more.

[Nuke]

I'm also behind Gibson on this. It's really the main reason I keep a buffer - if I feel uninspired or unwilling to work, I can just take a week or two off and come back double-time if I feel inspired.

[JR]

As usual, Gibson Twist gives sound advice.

As a slight variation (as an artist), I will sit in front of the TV with my sketch book, pencil and drawing board.  I don't do anything.  I just get use to having everything there.  The trick is to overcome the apprehension of the work, and this is such a small, inconsequential action that you fool your brain into getting over the hurdle. 

This strategy is derived from kaizen, a philosophy of daily, small improvements that companies like Toyota use... on second thought, in light of recent developments, maybe kaizen isn't such a good idea.

[Nuke]

This strategy is derived from kaizen, a philosophy of daily, small improvements that companies like Toyota use... on second thought, in light of recent developments, maybe kaizen isn't such a good idea.

Yesterday I drove my comic off a cliff because the brakes stopped working. True story. Would not recommend this strategy.

((Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I spend all day on the laptop I do my art on anyway, though, so I guess that method is superfluous for me))

[Funderbunk]

I've been doing Gibson's thing every day now for a while, and little by little it's helping. I'm also going to try JR's thing from now on.

It's not helping a lot though, I'm incredibly blocked and I absolutely loathe all the things I make and they seem half-hearted. I'm beginning to think it's a psychological thing - I'm going to be finished with my current school course soon, and I want to keep studying but I can't find a school that I feel good about going to. As a result, I'm pretty much too late for all the intake procedures now and now I don't really have a direction in my life for the moment, and it seems to be killing my mojo.

[amanda]

I don't really have a direction in my life for the moment, and it seems to be killing my mojo.

Yes.  Yes, this is exactly what I feel like right now!

[Gibson]

It's only been a week since you posted this topic, you need to be patient. Things don't happen overnight, the point is to keep yourself doing something, anything. The problem might also be that you're pushing yourself too hard, thinking there's something wrong with you. This happens to everyone sooner or later.

[Gar]

Artist mojo is kind of tough, I keep losing it and getting it back. If it's gone you just need to do something else for a while. Watching animated films or reading comics might get you to an 'Oh, I see how they did that!' moment.

Have you tried drawing in different places? There's a window ledge in work which I find good (I do most of my pencilling in a pad on my lap). Some places just have better drawing mojo than others.

Also I'll give you a project: Draw a parade of happy, smiling cocks.

(It's an exercise to avoid overthinking it, because you're drawing funny willies.)

[Rob]

An interesting article on this very subject came to me via the Twitters.

http://blog.iso50.com/2010/02/10/overcoming-creative-block/

Enjoy.  ;)

[Funderbunk]

Thanks! That was an interesting read.

Also I'll give you a project: Draw a parade of happy, smiling cocks.

I did this a while ago but I forgot to post it and now I can't find it. :(

They were roosters.