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Hellllllleeerrrrrrrrrr readers,

Happy Wednesday, erbody. How are we all feeling this week?

Personally, I’m feeling a bit burnt out, but something tells me that’s the boat that most people are in right now. Election drama, dark by 4:30 PM, and colder weather are all pushing most of us into hibernation mode.

While I most definitely feel the urge to draw the shades, put a blanket on, and pop some YouTube on the TV, I know I need to do the opposite to avoid stagnation and further mental blocks.

So, I’ve made some plans for the coming weeks to get my energy levels back up.

First up is this weekend, where I’ll be headed out to LA to soak up some rays and listen to the incredible artists featured at Tyler, the Creator’s music festival, Camp Flog Gnaw. I’m hoping that with some warm sun, good music, and better vibes, I can reset my energy meter as we delve further into winter.

If you’re headed to the fest or know some folks who are, give me a shout! I always love meeting up with you incredible readers in person. :)

There’s some more fun stuff on the horizon, but I’ll keep those for a later issue. I hope everyone can make moves to keep the good vibes up as we inch closer to Christmas.

Have any tactics that keep you from the seasonal slump? Shoot me a reply to this email so I can share your method with the other folks in our community!

PS - If you’d like to support me and the newsletter, click the link for 1440 Media below. It helps to fund this newsletter even if you don’t do anything other than click the link. ❤️ 

-Luke

Dealing with Creative Blocks

Content block.

Creative block.

Writer’s block.

Whatever you call it, I’ve got it this week.

I’ve never fully come to terms with being blocked creatively. Even at the moment that I’m “being blocked,” I still find that I’m coming up with creative ideas and solutions in my head, I just can’t seem to get them down on paper (computer, whatever).

Or, if I do get them down on paper, I delete them almost immediately. Kinda like the sentence right before this one, where I wrote and re-wrote it probably 11 times. Although the block feels impassable, I’ve found that pushing through and just getting anything down on paper can be a fantastic way to start making your way over the hurdle.

Getting things down helps me figure out what I don’t want, which definitely takes a bit longer than when things are flowing, but it’s better than getting defeated by the block.

Bad sentences, clunky ideas, and half-formed thoughts tend to serve as markers for myself, helping to nudge me closer to where I want to take things creatively.

And these aren’t just the rambling of a madman. I’m quite literally doing this as I’m writing this piece!

As I write through this piece, I realize that a creative block isn’t the absence of creativity, it’s simply creativity hidden behind a wall… or block, if you will (I’ll see myself out). And every time I write a terrible, barely coherent sentence, it’s like I’m taking a smack at that wall, slowly working away until I see the creative light shine through (do philosophers make money? Because that’s a banger analogy. Pay up, big philosophy).

I feel as though that creative blocks are sometimes derived from the content standards that we all place on ourselves and our work. Often, it’s less about the creative idea itself and more about doubting how that creativity or piece of content might perform. But that kind of kills the reason we all started creating.

When in the process of our individual creation, we need to allow ourselves to be more creative, have more fun, and worry less about how a line is delivered and other minute details. We can worry about all of those details in editing.

Remember, we started creating because we felt the need to plug into a creative outlet and put our creativity out into the world. If you’re worried too much about perfection during the process, you might not create anything at all.

So, to all of my creative blocked buddies: break out that chisel and start hammering away at the wall. You might be surprised by what can come of a rough draft.

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Hope you enjoyed this week’s post. See you next week ✌️