“That’s it,” I think to myself as I sit at my desk and contemplate the blog post I’ve been meaning to write for days. Determined, I grab my laptop and click on my web browser. “I’m getting this done. Now.”
I open up a blank document and watch the cursor blink, waiting for the opening sentence to hit me. I feel motivated. More motivated than I have in a while. But still, I can’t get the right words to come to me. I type something but then quickly delete it, deeming it not good enough. I don’t know why but I can’t seem to string a coherent thought together. What’s wrong with me?
Annoyed and uninspired, I slam my laptop shut and put the post off yet again. I reassure myself that I’ll write it later that night but (spoiler alert) I don’t.
I wrestle with this scenario on a routinely basis. In my two plus years of blogging, I’ve discovered it to be a nasty part of the writing process. You sit down with the intent to get a ton of writing done, and everything seems to be going in your favor. You’re in a quiet spot. You’re feeling energized. You’ve got plenty of free time ahead of you. But for some inexplicable reason, you just can’t seem to get a word to appear on a page.
And it all has to do with creativity.
More specifically, the worst thing about creativity.
For the record, let me first say that I love creativity. I mean, how could I not? As a blogger, I rely on creativity to come up with ideas and write posts. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to do anything on Currently, Lately or have even launched it in the first place. But creativity goes far beyond me. It is the driving force behind the world’s greatest discoveries and most dynamic innovations. We would literally go nowhere without it.
However, for as much as I love and appreciate creativity, I have to admit it has its drawbacks. The main one, my biggest gripe, is its lack of consistency. You see, unlike any other skill on the planet, creativity isn’t something you can improve upon with practice. You can’t scribble it down on flashcards and commit it to memory. You can’t repeat it to yourself until it clicks. Creativity doesn’t always come to those who work for it. Sometimes, even when you put forth your best effort, it will still fail you.
There is no tired and true method for becoming more creative. No mnemonic device, no learning strategy. Creativity moves in waves. It’s there when it decides to show up, and it isn’t when it isn’t. And that’s a really difficult thing to deal with because we can’t just sit around all day waiting for creative thoughts to materialize.
It also doesn’t help that I’m a planner, and that I like everything to be predictable and organized. If I had it my way, creative slumps would only occur in regularly scheduled intervals. (Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if you could get a heads up before your creative energy up and left?)
The world unfortunately doesn’t work that way (but a girl can dream, right?). We can’t control when we do and don’t feel creative. We can’t prevent those long, endless slumps from happening. But what we can control is the way we respond to them. Which is why, in spite of what I might dislike about creativity, I continue to strive for it anyway. Because there’s ultimately nothing more satisfying than navigating your way out of a creative funk.
How do you feel about creativity? Is there anything you dislike about it?
Currently, Lately 
It’s nice to see that someone feels the same way that I do. Creativity is the reason I haven’t written a blog post in a week. I have a blog post saved as a draft presently. I should have finished writing it on Friday last week, but each time I open it, I would suddenly become lost for words. Well, that’s a lie. I find the words, but I just don’t think they’re good enough, and so I don’t write. I think creativity and perfectionism often work hand-in-hand.
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I love being creative and I love creativity. To create is a privilege, a blessing granted humankind from our Creator. However, writers block and artists block are REAL! and finding the energy, the time and more importantly a starting point to work from in order to actually bring the boundless thoughts and ideas we have to life, can be really challenging. I find that starting drafts with ideas I have even if it’s one sentence, and just letting them sit there and coming back to them when I’m ready, really helps me to avoid feeling the pressure to produce and also gives me more time to produce a quality product
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Loved this. You put into words everything I’ve been feeling. I really enjoy blogging, painting, crafting, etc. but often times I sit there and just put everything away because I can’t figure out what to do. Creativity is amazing when it’s there, and a real bummer when it’s not.
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Loved this post! ❤ ❤
https://outfitsandmakeupblog.com/2019/02/05/5-mascaras-tried-and-tested/
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THIS!!! *Shakes hands in the air* I think it’s called Murphy’s Law for stuff like this, or in Northern Ireland “Sod’s Law”. I thought this was bad before, or when I was pregnant, but of course it’s only gotten worse since I got my son, although funnily enough has slightly improved now I’m back at work!! There are blog posts I’ve had sitting in drafts waiting for me to take pictures to go along with them that I can no longer complete (Maternity outfits etc!) Although motherhood is a wonderful resource for blog writing haha. Keep going, you’ll get there!
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I love being creative but I totally share the struggles with you! One thing you can do is just keep your mind open, learn a lot about as much as you can and look at your surroundings. I’m saying this but it’s much harder to do it haha 😂
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this is so relatable and true!!
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I always describe myself as creative and the one thing I hate about creativity is how limited it is for a certain time span. It’s not like energy where I can replenish it by going to bed. I feel like a lot of my hobbies (blogging, scrapbooking, photography) all require creativity that if I focus on one hobby, I spend my creativity and seem to struggle when I move onto another hobby. I do have moments where I tend to focus on one hobby a bit more so it’s never fully balanced but I don’t mind not blogging for a few weeks or not scrapping for a few months to focus on other things.
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I know exactly what you mean! It can be really frustrating when all your hobbies are creativity-based, and you’re not feeling creative. I love what you said about it not being like energy. That’s so true, and at times it can be really pesky!
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My least favorite thing about creativity is when an idea hits, I write it all down, I edit it, I make sure it looks nice, and I am extremely proud of my work, deeming it excellent. I get that stroke of genius I rarely get, and then when I share it, nobody thinks it’s even remotely cool or impressive. Maybe that’s a bit selfish, but I wish that when those moments of “genius” hit, that the “genius” would be a bit more universal and not just focused on what I think is cool. I also don’t like it when I get really creative, ideas practically bursting from my brain, and I have things to do. I don’t have the time to write down any ideas and must focus on the work at hand–soooo annoying.
Anyways, this is an excellent post!! I only recently found your blog, and I love it!! Thanks for working so hard on it, even through the creative slumps X)
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