If you’re a creative there is a limit to how much time you can spend working on a project before you need a break to create something unconnected. Bear with me here. I’m not suggesting you work like a demon until burn out and then take a break to work on something else and forget about your original project. What I’m talking about is using a different part of your brain. And how working too hard can create a block of
The Science Bit
With roughly 86 billion brain cells at our disposal to process the vast amounts of information we shove in it everyday it’s not surprising that every now and then it feels like we’re trying to run through jelly wearing a sumo suit and flippers. And this basically means that those billions of brain cells aren’t firing properly. But! You can give them a jump start.
Now, whilst many will tell you that writers block or creative block isn’t a thing there are times when you have to wonder if your brain is broken. Because if it isn’t a thing why can’t you figure out what the problem is with the project you’re working on? It could be too much information or not enough, and it might be that all you need is that break.
The brain is particularly good at working on problems without you, and if it’s a creative block that you’re experiencing it might be worth engaging the practical, logical side of your brain for a while.
Take a Break to Create
Grab ten minutes, or twenty if you can spare them, or an hour if you are really struggling with a block and do something else. Fix that leaky pipe in the basement that won’t stop dripping, work in the garden, take a bath, or grab a rope and start tying knots. The more focused you are on an unrelated task, the more likely your brain will do the work for you and you’ll get a spark of inspiration that can have you chucking the shovel away and leaving the body to be buried later.
Facing the Blank Page
Perhaps your creative block has you staring wildly at an innocent white page -be that paper or screen- contemplating your life choices as you wonder how to start that amazing idea. And sometimes all you can do is start. If this is writing, consider creating yourself a copy and past file of your front copy like your title, name, copyright etc. followed by your version of my anything in this written work is the result of the overactive imagination of the author thing that takes away the blankness of it all.
So don’t panic. Step away from the project -no matter what your deadline might be- and go do something else, safe in the knowledge your brain will still be working on it without your panicked interference.
Horror and Fantasy Author – Also writing as K.T. McQueen. Love Western Horror, cowboy boots, my cactus Collin, & my Demon Cat.
Moths – I hate moths, the way they flutter at your face!
