I’ve never met another artist, writer, painter, woodworker, or any other type of creative who hasn’t been “blocked”, uncertain, or otherwise lost.
You take a look at the blank page or screen, blank canvas, raw wood or clay, and nothing is coming. The ideas and creative juices just seem not to be flowing. It’s very distressing.
For some, it goes a step further. It’s frightening.
You can’t face that blank slate without a sense of trepidation, concern, discomfort, and that might even extend all the way out to fear.
This is a perfectly normal happening. The intimidation of creation – whatever your medium might be – can be scary.
What’s more, probably, you don’t even realize that you’re dealing with fear.
What are you afraid of?
This question, in this context, is specific to your creative process.
For many, sharing what you create can be scary. That’s one thing. But sometimes, just beginning is terrifying in and of itself.
Why? Because of all the uncertainty that surrounds your creation.
What if it’s bad? What if it’s not good enough? Will people shun me for creating this? Will I be called a loser or a poser for this? What if it’s amazing and this changes my entire life?
There is no answer to any of these questions. All are hypothetical and utterly outside of our control. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t bothersome. Hence, it’s not so weird to be afraid to even begin creating because of all the unknowns.
No matter what the fear is, it’s intangible. That means it cannot physically hurt you (unless, distracted by this fear, you walk into a wall, traffic, or some other danger). Intangible fear of this sort is based on “what if?” That means it’s wholly hypothetical.
That doesn’t lessen how frightening it might be. Fear of the blank canvas, page, screen, and so on can freeze your creative process.
However, you can work through and around it. Just know there’s no quick fix for this, it will take some time and work.
Mindfulness and your creative process
Whatever you are creating, whether it’s a painting, script, novel, meal, or what-have-you, this is a mindful, intentional act.
Creatives do not do their work in the void without intent. You have an idea, put feeling and intention into it, then do the painting, writing, sculpting, cooking, and so on. This isn’t a haphazard, half-assed project. It’s a process that lights you up and empowers you.
Sometimes, however, taking that first step from thought, idea, or notion is a leap of faith. It’s an action with an uncertain result. And that could frighten you.
Even the most experienced artists sometimes find the blank canvas or screen intimidating.
When I finished the initial work writing my new Savagespace sci-fi series, I was not sure what to do next. This series had occupied my time and attention for more than a year. Should I follow it with the next 4 books of my Forgotten Fodder series that I’ve plotted out? Flesh out the new fantasy series or gentleman space pirate book idea I’ve been developing? Or run with this utterly new idea for a sci-fi story that hit me recently?
For a couple of days, the blank screen frightened me. Yet I know that, as an author, when one project is completed, you move on to the next.
I considered my options. Looked at each project and what it might look like. Then, I let go of my fear, made a choice, and got to work.
When all is said and done, that’s all that mindfulness is. It’s an active choice.
The creative process can be incredibly uncertain. Take this blog, for example. Every week, I write something about the ongoing process – the ongoing creative process. That means every week, I face a blank screen.
I could let it overwhelm me. Letting the blank screen, canvas, page, clay, or whatever stay your hand is a choice. But it only has the power over you if you allow it to.
I choose to take this blank screen and put words on it. Before long, I have notes, plots, outlines, worlds, characters, blogs, books, and more, to share with the world. Or not.
Just because you turn that blank into something doesn’t mean you must share it. You get to choose your own adventure. But that means using mindfulness to get over any concerns, uncertainty, and/or fear, and the like.
How? It begins with active, conscious self-awareness – here and now – of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions. When you know these, your fear of the blank page, screen, or canvas loses its power.
Why? Because you will see that it’s not tangible and that you’re not its victim. Fear can rarely stand up to active conscious awareness – mindfulness. That’s because fear tends to be a product of the subconscious mind or the ego.
What that means is that fear is not in the here and now. It either originates in your subconscious mind, where your beliefs, values, habits, and memories live. Or in your ego, that projection to the word without, and reflection back within, of who you believe yourself to be that’s based on often outdated info.
Mindfulness, here and now, gives you control. That empowers you to let go of your fear and turn that blank whatever into something.
The results of your creative process will always vary
Finally, let’s be honest here. What you create isn’t always good. Sometimes your creative process does turn out something that simply is, might not be your finest work, or could even be crappy.
Of course, that’s subjective. “Person A” might find your creation brilliant while “Person B” finds it horrendous. Beauty, perfection, and all the like are in the eye of the beholder.
Some of the blogs I write I’m fairly “meh” about. I did the work, and the blank screen is now an essay. But I know it’s pedestrian. No, I’m not saying it’s bad or that it sucks. I just see it on my personal sliding scale from what-the-hell-is-this-crap to holy-shit-thats-incredible as somewhere near the middle.
It’s important to recognize that not everything creative that you do will be amazing. That’s the nature of the beast for every creative of every kind. You don’t get good at your art without stumbling and bumbling along the way. That’s why I call it the ongoing process and keep sharing these blogs as I work on my ongoing creative process.
Fearing that blank canvas, screen, page, block of wood, or whatever is normal. You just need to be mindful, open yourself to the potential and possibility, and do the work to take and find that idea and make it into a reality.
Please keep doing your art. The world needs all the creatives it can get.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you, I conclude with this: How are you inspired to be your own creator – whatever form that takes?
Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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