Writer’s Block

Today I was trying to think of what to write about, going through any ideas I might have had in the past, but inspiration wasn’t striking. 

The creativity was not happening. The creative juices were not flowing.

I realized that I had writer’s block.

And then I thought, OH, yeah. That’s a great thing to write about.

I’ve discussed this topic with a few industry professionals, and it seems there are a lot of different reasons why it might occur. It could be outside pressures, deadlines approaching, stressful life events happening, or maybe you’re just trying to draw inspiration from the wrong place and you’re thinking too hard about it.

Whatever the reason may be, the reality is, it’s discouraging. It makes you question if you still have it, if you can still write just as well as you did that one time or if you’re a big imposter. At least those are some of the things that go through my own head.

And when writing music is not just a fun hobby, but your income and reputation also depend on it, writer’s block can put you in a very stressful situation.

So let’s break this thing down, and talk about ways to maneuver through it.

I’ll start first with reasons why it may happen, because if we know the root cause of where it’s coming from, that gives us the power to deal with what may be happening!

1. Lack of Inspiration

Sometimes, the ideas just aren’t there. No matter how long you sit at the piano, stare at your manuscript paper, or watch whatever you’re scoring over and over again, you draw a blank.

2. Judgment and Perfectionism

We’re hard on ourselves. We want to find and write the perfect music, have the perfect ensemble of instruments, write the piece that will prove our incredible creativity and masterfulness of the craft.

3. Fear of Failure

This falls into the judgment category as well, but sometimes we scratch out ideas over and over again, seemingly unable to find the perfect set of notes because we worry what others will think or that we’ll be rejected.

4. Burnout

Complete exhaustion due to making writing a chore or overworking ourselves.

5. Distractions

Creativity can come in chaos; but constant interruptions to our routine or outside stresses can make it difficult to focus.

I’m sure there are more reasons you can think of, but for now, we’ll stick with these five root causes. Now that we’ve named them, let’s talk about some ideas to deal with them.

1. Freewrite

When I think of freewriting, I think of being in a classroom as a teenager and having my English teacher put a timer on for 15 minutes, telling us to keep our pencils to the paper the entire time and write down whatever comes to us.

Apply this to writing music, and it’s a great exercise! Put a timer on and COMPOSE. It could be writing random notes and rhythms down on paper, improvising on your preferred instrument, or even humming random melody lines (which you should record while you do so you can listen back). 

This is a no-judgment exercise - just whatever pops into your head, record it in some way! As you start doing this exercise daily or even a few times a day, you might start to find little ideas you can expand on later.

2. Write the Worst Possible Sounding Music in Existence

To combat judgment and perfectionism, why not try making something purposely sound awful? 

Perhaps you put a timer on to do this, or perhaps you spend an entire day writing the worst music you’ve ever written. Jumble the instruments together, play clusters of notes that make you cringe. 

Maybe if you allow yourself to write something so imperfect, you’ll realize that ‘good’ music is objective, so it doesn’t really matter.

3. Do Something Else

Sometimes trying to stay focused on something for so long when you’re stuck just makes the situation worse, and then all of those thoughts of self-doubt come in.

So, try something else. Go for a walk, make some food, watch a film, listen to a podcast, read a book, or do one of your hobbies. Even if you’re in a time crunch, changing your focus for 15 minutes might allow your mind to relax. 

Some of the best ideas come when you’re not even trying.

4. Practice Self-Care

When I’m focused on a task I’m doing, nothing else matters. I can’t hold a conversation, I don’t notice how hungry I am or that my back’s hurting sitting in my chair, or anything else except what I’m working on.

If I allowed that to happen all the time, I would be injured, ill, an unhealthy size, and very miserable to be around for other people.

You may not be the same when you work, but even so, it’s so important that we take care of ourselves and know when to say STOP.

Go back to the little things in life that seem less important. Maybe that means take time to eat breakfast in the morning. Exercise. Spend time with people. Stand up every hour and walk around your work environment.

Maybe even start saying “no” if it’s getting to be too much. 

All of these little things will add up over time, and will help you not to reach ‘burnout’, or your breaking point.

5. Change Your Environment

Distractions are easy to be dragged into. So do something different. Maybe turn your phone and notifications on ‘do not disturb’. Set a schedule for yourself for the day. Move to another room, or go to another place like a cafe or a park.

Maybe there are things you could do like move your furniture around in your work space, or simply shut the door. 

Whatever it is, focusing your attention on something else, like being in a new environment, will give your mind new things to be inspired by.

These are only some ideas for navigating writer’s block, but if you’d like more, I’ve made an entire pdf document that you can download to use:

Just remember, writer’s block isn’t an exclusive experience. It can happen to all people and all artists, because it is a natural part of human existence.

It’s just another experience to have, so don’t judge yourself and try not to worry too much about it when it happens.

You never know what may come out of it on the other side!

Until next time,

Nadia