Beat the blank page
Every creative freelancer has probably experienced the blank page of doom at some point in their careers. The creative blockage may strike when you’re working on a specific idea for a project or may be a more general stagnation of the grey cells, where you don’t even have any ideas about what’s for tea.
Still, you can’t just sit there staring gormlessly into space forever; bills have to be paid and pages have to be filled, so here are some things I have tried and some tips and tricks I’ve learned from other freelancers.
Leave it alone
I remember once I had to think up a strapline for a company website. I’d done it loads of times before, but this one just would not come. I was starting to feel like Alan Partridge pitching his bad TV shows with some of the awful ideas I was straining to produce. The client kept (helpfully) phoning me a couple of times per day asking what I had come up with and the panic rose. In the end I told them they would have it by Monday (translation: please stop calling me). “Loads of time”, I thought, “I’ll go and do something else”. Within hours I had about three good ideas; as soon as I stopped trying to force it, there they were. So if you are really struggling, go and do something else instead; have a sleep, watch a film, walk the dog, play on the games console - whatever it is that you do when you’re not working.
So many people say this is how they manage a creative block that there has to be something in it.
Don’t rush
Of course, if you’re going to insist on being an artiste about the creative process and wait for inspiration to strike, you better leave yourself enough time for those idea-inducing naps and walks. Stress and panic can be the biggest creativity killers around, for me anyway. Some people thrive on a really tight deadline and intense pressure; I do not. I try and negotiate sanity-preserving deadlines and I always have a quick squizz at a project as soon as I get it, even if I am not starting it there and then. That way I can spot any potentially puzzling areas and give myself lots of time to mull them over.
Er, what’s the question again?
A couple of times when I have found the ideas cupboard to be bare, it’s been because deep down I’ve been a little unclear about what I am trying to do/where I am going with something. The quicker I have realised this and admitted it to myself, the quicker things usually get moving again. Sometimes, I’ve phoned the client to get some clarifications on specific points or to talk over ideas. Obviously being specific is the key here – I don’t just call up and tell them that there is nothing in my head except for some light static.
I also try and look for a new way in to whatever I’m working on. Finding a new angle can get the creative juices flowing. To do this I google around, look in papers and magazines and talk to people in real life.
Just do something
If you’ve left it too late, or in the unlikely event that none of this has worked, the best plan of attack is to just start doing something. For example, start writing whatever comes into your head or doodling. Often if I just start writing, the ideas start to flow more. I usually end up with none of the first draft in the final version but the rusty old cogs definitely start cranking round again.
Unblock your brain
Here are some other tips that others recommend for digging yourself out of a creative hole:
- Brainstorm (I think maybe we are supposed to say “thought shower” these days?) – I haven’t actually tried this yet- it reminds me too much of GCSE design and technology classes. However, many people say it gets the ideas flowing and I’m up for trying just about anything if the panic has risen high enough.
- Read magazines and books covering work you admire.
- Keep a note book for ideas so you don’t forget them if they come at random times (I have started to do this and it is really useful).
So what do you do if you have a creative block? Any tips for beating the blank page of doom?
Mar 18, 2009
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