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Curing Your Creative Block: Beyond the Norm of Quick Content

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Delhi South chapter.

As a writer and a person in general, I find myself perfecting every aspect of my work even though I know that being a perfectionist can be deadly. Sometimes, I have this fear of being imperfect loitering around my invisible aura and this dwindling imperfection gives rise to my creative block or a writer’s block. We all are a part of this race which is visible in the form of stress. It’s not just about a writer’s block, it concerns itself with a creative block in general which every artist faces from time to time. People want content and we provide and produce the content. But, producing the content needs a lot of thinking and planning but the audience wants quick content at a quick pace which can also lead to a creative block on the side of the artist. The superficial nature of quick content has become a norm and it can lead to a creative burnout where the creator has a major brain freeze which ultimately leads to a terrible block.

The inability to access your internal creativity can be quite frustrating at times and artists get the brunt of it quite often. As a writer, I have observed one thing- major media houses want content from their writers but they want writers to produce content without considering their writer’s needs. They merely want quick content and the pressure lies with the writer who is not given a space to relax. Writing is not a sixty-minute job. An article takes time to frame and a shabbily written article can be a confidence buster for a writer. Putting pressure of any form on the artist can lead them to produce work that is not up to their mark which results in low self-esteem and the feeling of giving up. On a personal note, as a writer, I often feel pressured and my mind slips into a puddle of nothingness where ideas go down the drain. Everything goes for a toss and I run after extensions for my article.I chose the ‘big’ things for my muse.

The fear of imperfection or the fear of not being good enough makes us run after the next ‘ big’ thing for inspiration. But, what we don’t understand is that inspiration can be found in the most trivial things. We just need a space to breathe and a good eye to look out for the inspiration that is happily dancing around us. Pablo Picasso has said that – “Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” We need certain distractions to open our planetarium of creativity. The distractions can help us get our attention back which we might have lost on the way. Allowing ourselves the distraction when we are unable to concentrate can help us visit the unraveled part of our creative room. You might be scared to explore the hidden corners of your mind but who knows you might come across a treasure chest full of ideas yet to be discovered which are just lying in some corner of your bright mind. Look for your afflatus in the small things around you which can show you the way to your hidden chest of creativity. It can be your mother’s laughter or your morning breakfast or your grandfather’s posture while he reads his morning newspaper.

Create content at your own pace, give yourself a breather and chase the small things that happen around you. From time to time we feel stuck at some point but that doesn’t mean we leave everything to go down the ladder we are climbing amidst the chaos. We resolve the problem by finding a solution. Finding a quick fix is a little difficult during a creative block but finding a distraction is easy. Maybe dancing, singing your heart or even destroying a pillow can act as an escape from the chaos you are stuck in. All creative blocks occur for a short period but they can be prolonged if you allow them to stay. Efforts are needed from within and you shall be free from your blockage in no time. Sinuses clear up with proper treatment, your creative block will clear with a proper distraction which can ultimately help you dig into your hidden trove of creative ideas.

Lekha Nath

Delhi South '23

Lekha is a student of literature at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. She is at an age where she is free to explore any arena, and she likes to record her experiences in her trusty ol' journal. She goes by the tagline- "Just keep swimming". She is just another human with a journal trying to keep up with the ever-changing world. :)