Combating Writer’s Block

Staying optimistic in art world is super tough right now! For help with that, we’ve got my series on songwriting that provides a ton of practical tips.

The pandemic meant no shows for a long time, and maybe not a lot of spare cash lying around for doing recording projects, either. When writing, even in “normal” times, frustration can be a regular occurrence, so having some strategies on getting past things like writers block is a must. Here’s a few things to think about, that might be helpful in keeping things moving forward.

Always keep in mind that when we’re writing, the goal is not necessarily to come up with the perfect idea, it’s to come up with the next idea.

You’ll have a better chance at getting to the idea you want through iteration, rather than waiting for lightning to strike, so give yourself the space and time to iterate! Make mistakes and throw them out, then quickly move on, until you get to what you want.

Pick and choose what works for you below, or come up with your own list.

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• Focus on concrete, small wins. Now is not the time to get bogged down further.

• Finishing a single and releasing it might keep the wheel spinning more than diving into a huge, ambitious project that won’t see any payoff for months.

• Same goes for completing demos. Keep repeating those small wins.

• If you’re on a project with a long timeline, don’t focus on the end result too early, just focus on the single next step you have to do.

• Take a break. Being in nature can help with forming new ideas.

• Reexamine old work. Remixing, remastering, using old demos as a foundation for new ideas, etc.

• Explore a new side job to reduce money stress, and switch things up.