Creative frustration
Have you ever wanted to do something, attempted to do that thing and then found that no matter how hard you tried, you simply couldn’t?
That’s how I feel right now about anything that requires creative energy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down with a witty idea or two, only to find that those ideas dancing around in my head simply couldn’t find their way out my fingers. Everything feels forced, and definitely not inspired.
For me, the worst thing about creative frustration is (surprise, surprise!) the “frustration” part. Unlike other negative emotions, I have yet to find a way to channel frustration into something positive. When creative frustration hits me, it crashes the whole operating system of my right brain, sort of like what happens when you try working in Photoshop and Illustrator at the same time while you browse Firefox with 50+ tabs open—I can’t write, I can’t draw, I can’t take photos, and I sure in hell can’t design.
Take yesterday as an example. It was a beautiful—no, gorgeous day. The sun was out, the sky was blue, the grass was green and the air was filled with a scent that could only be described as “HEY WORLD, SUMMER IS COMING!”.
After sitting by the window for a couple minutes trying to write something coherent about Miley Cyrus’s agent being in Vancouver (it’s just as hard as it sounds, trust me), I decided to take the camera out for a walk and snap some shots of the gorgeous cherry blossoms across the street. The creative attempt went something like this:
- Go outside
- Take photos
- Review photos, discover that each one varies in different degrees of horrid
- Reach a profound verdict: “It’s too sunny for photos” (!!!)
- Get frustrated, go back inside to sulk
If I had to choose one word to describe that 10-minute photo session, “disastrous” would be it.
I don’t know if I have the answer to creative frustration. I certainly didn’t when I first started this entry, but after getting into the ebb and flow of it, I think that maybe perseverance is the answer. Maybe you just need to see creative frustration, experience creative frustration, then plow right through creative frustration (as cringe-worthy and painstaking it might be) to get through creative frustration.
In fact, this reminds me a quote:
“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins—not through strength but by perseverance.”
H. Jackson Brown
So I turn it over to you: I know we all experience creative frustration—how do you deal with it?
Join the club, Chanel.
It’s become a more reccouring thing for me over the past year. It’s slowly just withering away to the exent where I’ve had to take ideas from other sites. (All have which have noticed and sent emails to me ha ha.)
You just have top stop for awhile. Become inspired by some other more brilliant work than your own and try to convert it into your own unique way. Unless you’re one of the peple who others actually copy from - then you’re a genius. =) But people like you and me…we have to leech on, in some shape or form. I dunno, maybe my idea of originalty and design has changed since I’ve have my creative block.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:07 pmHa. I do the same thing you do… just in my own way.
- Ctrl + Alt + Delete + Manually kill photoshop, because that cutesy [x] button seems too nice. “HELL NO I DON’T WANT TO SAVE UNTITLED-14.PSD!”
- Violent paper ripping. Forget shredding, or crumpling it into a ball and making a basket. Nope. Ripped to shreds.
- On camera: Review + Delete + All + Yes
- Guitar: Gently place back in case. Put case back against wall. Deep sigh. Back to photoshop.
So basically, I think we all get creative frustration, and some of us get pretty darn creative WITH our frustration. You sound a lot like me… you start telling yourself you suck and you immediately quit whatever you’re doing. What you need to do is REALLY step back, not just while you’re frustrated, and give yourself a break. Wait until you are literally itching to design something great, wait another day, and then HAVE AT IT.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:12 pmI agree with all of the above. I don’t think I usually suffer from creative frustration much (maybe because I’m not all that creative.. although my current header that I created turned out pretty well, just as what I had imagined&envisioned! ^^ woot - go me)..
Anyways, yeah, just go away from it, take a break, do something else and come back to it and hopefully you’re in a much more better and maybe even creative? mood and try again :)
May 6th, 2008 at 7:59 pmHow did I deal with it? Err … I dropped a sickening amount of money on a new piece of equipment to inspire me.
But really, it’s worked! My camera hasn’t left my side since I purchased my new lens.
Generally though - since I’m not made of money - I find taking a break works best for me. I haven’t done anything in my journals for a few weeks now and at first I was really anxious about that, but now I’ve relaxed and realized that I’ll pick it back up again when I’m ready. I never want my creative endeavors to look or feel forced, and they would be, if I didn’t back off when I feel it to be necessary for my creative sanity. :-)
May 6th, 2008 at 11:34 pmCreative frustration is the worst, the worst when I badly wanna create a new theme for Wordpress and absolutely have no idea, or try to be a frustrated photographer but nothing comes out, sit with my guitar and compose a song but the sound doesn’t come out right. You know what I do? I take a LONG DEEP breath, pump out my speakers to the latest mainstream dance/hip hop/pop song and just dance. I kind of feel better :D
May 7th, 2008 at 12:02 amI know the feeling. What I do is rail against the wall in my private livejournal and just write. Ramble, blather, and just start letting things flow out. Or if I’m trying to be artisty and draw, I’ll scribble for a while.
So I guess, I agree with the quote that persistence is necessary and vital to retaining your creative bursts.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:37 amHey Chanel,
The best thing to do is to just stop trying to be creative for a while and recharge. I write a lot for my job and sometimes I just can’t get in the flow of it at all. I take a walk or work on other things.
I also look for inspiration from others, for example, your blog to get inspiration. (although it’s not working today! j/k!!!)
May 7th, 2008 at 10:58 pmI cheated. fontifier.com :)
May 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pmI know the feeling as well. I experience it far too much. As a matter of fact, the other day, when creating a MySpace layout. Of course, it happens while working on Wordpress themes. I always feel the urge to create something ‘different’, but it comes out the looking like the ‘usual’.
I usually just stop for awhile, and go back to it later, when I’m feeling less tense. Sometimes, I get too pressured, and it stresses me out too much to keep trying to work. I work better when I’m calmer. Puts me into a trance, and I become more creative. I’ve always found that I create my best layouts anywhere from 12am to 6am. lol. It’s when my mind works the best!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:08 pmI like to do something mindless… like watch MTV. That usually makes me feel stupid for not being productive.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:44 pm