Share the best creativity block advice you've heard.

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I have lately been trying to write novellas countlessly and have tried the snowflake method a bazillion times. When it comes to my visual arts talent I find it important to touch up on my skills as much as I can although I've got plenty of time inbetween...I do enjoy writing, whether it's poetry or a song, so just about anything is possible for me even though I'm stuck in the quicksand of losing ideas that make me happy creatively. Maybe you feel the same or are trying to get over it...so has anybody gotten over some of their issues with anything they can share? just thought I'd start a useful thread

Best advise (from an art teacher who is a successful artist) was to write every day - even for painters - and paint every day, even if just small, practice still life or some figure drawing.

I tend to be more creative when I am the happiest. I listen to repetitive music with sound blocking headphones when working, it helps me focus

Writing something as intensive and lengthy as a novella requires an outline. I make notes in my outline and expand on them when the time comes. Same as if I was writing a novel or screenplay. I build from the outline. Typically, I write between 1000 to 2000 words per day on the novel or novella just so I'm keeping track of my work.

It cures all writer's block

I've had the most success with two methods:

1) Trying something completely different and forcing my brain to think in a way other than the one that got it into a block.

2) Reconnecting with the passion of the subject instead of the desire to write something "good."

This isn't so much as removing/overcoming a block, but I found it greatly improved not only my writing, but also other various activities, and that was be careful of your physical environment, and for me that was specifically my eyes and lighting.

I was causing severe eye strain and causing myself to get a headache every time I wrote, and used a computer at work. I dimmed the screens and the improved the lighting whenever I can and eye-strain problems have dissapeared. I also work on being comfortable whether it's my posture or temperature so I'm worrying less about physical discomfort and more about the writing.

Also, pay attention to any ideas that come your way, even if it's nothing to do with what you're currently writing. I keep a folder full of text files for all the ideas I get. Some I just write down the premise, others, get more detail. I can always go back and look at them if I'm stuck on something else for inspiration. Some of these ideas will never see the light of day, but when I got it, at that moment, it was inspirational.

The thing that works best for me is to step away from it for a while and just go relax. If art/writing is making you frustrated, stepping away from it removes the source of frustration and allows you to clear your mind and calm down.

absolutely write everyday. no exceptions. also, have you tried freewriting? it's a good exercise and if you do it daily, you'll likely never suffer the block:
http://www.sinandsyntax.com/sin-and-syn ... ting-free/

I find it helpful just doing a little bit of guitar, no matter how simple it is, just to try and get back into the mind-state of enjoying playing the instrument or even just 'being' with it if that makes sense. I often think the majority of creative blocks stem from trying so hard to 'write a song' or 'paint a picture' that you end up losing the sense of care-free enjoyment you once had for the art since you are now placing some sort of time restraint on yourself, which is not necessary. Artists I find tend to write their best songs when they are not trying purposefully to write are song but are playing spontaneously until a song 'appears' to them. This of course could be explained in neurological terms in which the subconscious mind has taken control over the artistic process and is actually more efficient than the rational side of the mind at being creative. Thom Yorke apparently said to Bats for Lashes that the best thing to do was draw whenever you can't write a song just so your mind is still being creative even if it might not be in the domain you find most interesting.

Christian Brothers? REALLY??? You should have more respect for yourself, dude…like Hennessy or Remy Martin (my personal fav).

Or if you're up for it, Old No. 7 Jack Daniel's. I also enjoy Glenlivet. Either one, sipped sloooooooowly. And if I were the smoking type, I'd probably add some Nicaraguan tobacco for a slight energy boost.

But as for simultaneously relaxing and stimulating alcohol choices, that's where my money is. The key is to relax, not to get sick or drunk. More than an ounce or two and you'll end up doing yourself more harm than good.

I don't smoke, and I've severely cut back my alcohol over the last three years, though lately I've had this horrible craving for Jaeger.

What I would suggest is any kind of intellectual activity to stimulate the creative process…one that isn't mentally exhausting but keeps your hand in the game. My music composition prof and mentor recommended taking published classical scores and copying them by hand. I'm working on my first two albums, one a seasonal album and the other a New Age instrumental project. I've found lately that working at a laptop from start to finish actually kept me too distracted to do any serious writing, so I deconverted to pencil and manuscript paper. I use Papermate Mirado #2 pencils, and I sharpen them with a pocket knife. I've been tempted to soak my manuscript paper in water and let them air dry just for the texture prior to writing. My process for actually composing and arranging is to start by writing out melodies and harmonies in lead sheet form. I move to Logic in which I play freely a few times until I get a composite that sounds exactly the way I want it in performance. Then I go BACK to pencil and paper, transcribing what I recorded. Only then do I go into the Finale notation app to engrave what I've already written, and because everything is sketched in pencil, I can change anything I want. However, the difficulty in using pencil and paper means when I write notes, I'm a little more committed to it than I would be working in notation software alone. Freeing myself from the laptop has been somewhat liberating, because I'm thinking about music notation in terms I haven't dealt with in a long time. Not to mention I keep paper with me constantly, which travels easier than a laptop and doesn't have the obvious battery time limitations.

Before the suggestion about copying work by hand, another prof told me "Just keep writing." There's no need to maintain unreasonably high standards and expectations when creative work is your livelihood. You're not paid to be good, you're paid to do the work. So instead of having a heart attack over making every single work you write a masterpiece, commit to doing a great job on everything you do and churn out as much content as you can in short intervals of time. The reason being is that if you have a "masterpiece" or "hit song" mentality, you're going to become too emotionally vested in your work, which means you'll fail to evaluate your own work objectively. The project you worked on all year might be a steaming pile of crap, and because you were so all in on that one work, you completely missed your chance at writing a REAL hit. A better solution is to complete as many projects as quickly as you can and focus on just letting the cream of your work rise to the top. You might feel that one particular piece was a work of extraordinary genius, but your public, audience, critics, and even friends might have as strong feelings about something else you yourself didn't pay that much attention to or think that highly of. At the same time, you also generate a lot of material that, while not always appealing to your target audience, might appeal to others. So when your intended audience gets tired of you, you find you might actually have more of a future in an unexpected artistic or creative arena. My passion is really in atonal, electronic music, and I'm going through more of a meditative/contemplative phase at the moment. However, I know my friends aren't going to really care for it. So I'm trying to actually make my money with more commercially oriented and niche projects. Meanwhile, any music that doesn't make it on the albums or is tied to my special interest can go to licensing. I might be just fortunate enough to rake in $12k to $24k between album sales and performances; but YOU NEVER KNOW when your music MIGHT just make it into the next big film or video game and you're making $50k or more.

The point being you keep at your craft, no matter how much YOU think it's rubbish or uninspired.

I love anna-banana's advice on freewriting.

The best advice came from an editor that I was writing articles for: "If you can't find the way you want to start the article, start anywhere; you can go back to the beginning later and it will fall into place". And it worked.

For better prose, find a piece of writing you like, and copy it out many times. Charles Dickens, and Hunter S Thompson advocated this.

I've tried it, and it works. This wasn't the OP's question, though

Science fiction lit' usually gets me to think creatively. Particularly, someone like Philip K. Dick, who probably has the highest ratio of ideas per page of any novelist I can think of.