Preparing for the Creative Doldrums

Aug 142009

Preparing for the Creative Doldrums

I can’t remember the last time a client said to me “Here’s a bunch of money. Finish my project when you’re inspired”. If you’re in the creative industry it doesn’t matter whether or not you are “inspired”—You HAVE to create. Your income depends on it. So, how do you get inspired when you find yourself in the creative doldrums (aka, slump, rut, writer’s block, etc…)? And, how do you prepare for the inevitable slump? Being one who finds himself in a slump once every four hours or so I feel I’m qualified to offer up advice. Here are some techniques I use. Let’s dive right in.

What Causes a Slump?

The first thing to do is identify the cause of the doldrums. I have found that there are 3 common causes:

Laziness
Busyness
Depression

“Dammit, Jim, I’m an illustrator, not a psychologist!” That’s what I would tell you if you asked me how to cure clinical depression (and if your name was “Jim”). Therefore, most of what I will discuss here centers on point #1 and 2.

Store Up Your Creativity

My first bit of advice is prepare for creative slumps. They will happen. The best time to prepare for a drought is when you are in a time of great abundance—those times when the ideas are flowing so fast that you cannot write or draw fast enough to get them down on paper. During these times fill up those sketchbooks. Write, write, write, draw, draw, draw. Get as much of it out on paper. Then, when the doldrums hit, go back and review.

Be Proactive (Develop a Solid Creative Routine)

Too often we find ourselves in a slump because we haven’t intentionally been creative (we’ve become lazy). Creativity is more of a discipline than a feeling. It’s a muscle that needs to be exercised, just like your biceps. If you don’t exercise, it atrophies. Below I have two exercises to suggest: Exercise 1: Over the next week carry a pad of paper and a pen/pencil. When you see/hear/smell/taste/feel something that inspires you jot it down (or sketch it). If you see a colorful bird, write notes about it, or sketch it, or take a picture of it (I try to carry a small camera wherever I go). Jot down what you were doing when you got that inspiration (as well as the time of day). Try to fill up your paper. As the week goes by review your notes/sketches/pictures and see what inspires you. Look for patterns. What times of the day were these notes written down? Were you walking down the street? Staring out the window? Sitting at a coffee shop? Sitting at a green light spacing out? As you find patterns, duplicate them. Go to the same coffee shop at the same time of day. Force yourself to take out your sketchbook. Force yourself to write. Are you more creative in the morning, afternoon, evening, midnight, on the toilet? Learn how to be inspiration-focused. Exercise 2: Draw every day for a month! That’s it. Or, if you’re a writer, write every day. Try to make your drawing sessions last more that 5 minutes. Use your notes/inspiration from exercise 1 if you need something to draw. The point I am making is to develop a solid creative routine. Here are some other suggestions to fit in your routine:

Subscribe to design/art blogs, and read them.
Find artists that inspire you and constantly study their work. What do you like about their work? Copy styles in sketches (however, be careful when doing professional work).
Develop a solid physical exercise routine. Train your mind to think creatively as you exercise (this will become easier as you get in shape and your mind can move away from trying to not die). Endorphins do wonders for creativity.
Develop relationships with other artists, and talk “art”. Create “Art discussion” meetings. Brainstorm. This is also a great networking opportunity.
Collect things that inspire you. My wife loves collecting old vintage books and packaging.
Keep your mind “inspiration-focused”. The previous exercises will help with this. Always be looking for things that inspire you.
Become a people-watcher. Study human behavior. Just try not to creep people out.
Frequent bookstores.
Listen to podcasts

Continue the Routine Even When Busy

When I was working on redesigning my website I suddenly found that I hadn’t sketched anything new in weeks! I wasn’t following a routine. This often happens when I’m hard at work on production. When I’m working on an illustration I find that my sketching and studying goes down the drain. Don’t let this happen. Continue the routine.

Review Your Stored Creativity

So, what do you do when you find yourself in a slump? One thing I do is I go back through all the stored creativity. I pull out as many old, dusty sketchbooks that I can find. Sometimes I’ll even go through books from childhood. When I do this two things often happen:

I realize how far I’ve developed as an artist.
I find ideas that I’ve jotted/sketched down that I never fully developed. Suddenly a wealth of ideas come flooding back to me (and they’re all mine—it’s okay to steal from yourself)!

Your Thoughts

Now it’s your turn. What do you do to stay creative? What do you do when you find you’re in the doldrums? Do you find that your routines are similar to the ones I suggested, or do you have your own? Do you have articles or books to share? Feel free to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas.

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