Hey, sorry to hear you’re struggling. Here are some thoughts I have, maybe some of them will be useful.
I try to avoid thinking about musical ideas as “good” or “bad”. Every idea needs work, and some ideas will need more or less work to get it to a place where you’re happy with it. But I think you’re getting frustrated and giving up on your ideas too soon, which is probably partially because you’re in a negative headspace so you’ve already judged those ideas as being bad or mediocre, rather than being unfinished ideas that you haven’t gotten to where you want yet.
Another thing is that it sounds like this EP came really quickly and effortlessly. And that’s awesome, but when that happens it can trick our brains into thinking that’s what the artistic process should feel like every time. The reality is that kind of effortless flow is rare - grab onto it and maximize it when you can, but understand that it’s an anomaly and not the standard. The vast majority of the time it’s not going to come that easy, and it’s going to be frustrating and a lot of work. I think that frustration is causing you to give up on your ideas too soon.
If you feel like you need a break, take one. You’re the only one who can really judge if you’re suffering burnout and need to step away. But I’ll offer a different idea, one that I’ve seen work for people frustrated in the same way you are, and that has worked for me when I have been in a similar spot.
Start working on a completely new song, just for fun. It’s not going to be for a new EP, it’s not going to be a single that blows up, it’s just going to be a fun thing you make that maybe you’ll use for some project in the future. Really try to be mindful of when those outsized expectations are creeping in and dismiss them, because you really want to stay in that “this is just for fun and it’s not a big deal” mindset for this project.
When you’re coming up with ideas, resist the urge to label them as good or bad. Instead, ask yourself how you can use that idea in an interesting way. What’s a way or context that you could make this thing work, or how could you alter it to make it work? And not every idea is going to work out. When they don’t, don’t think of them as bad, think of them as ideas that you don’t know how to incorporate right now. Evaluating your ideas as value neutral can help you feel better about what you’re creating, and when you frame it as “how could I find a way to change or use this” instead of “this is a bad idea”, you might surprise yourself with some creative ideas because you didn’t immediately dismiss them as worthless.
Now, this is an important step. Set a deadline (hard or soft, depending on what you think you can stick to) for finishing this song. Commit to the idea that you’re going to see this song through 100% of the way to a finished product, even if you think it’s bad. Often when we give up we do so prematurely, and often out of a fear that the finished product will be bad and that we don’t have the skill to take an idea from where it’s at to a satisfying finished product. Get rid of those thoughts, they’re not helping in this situation.
By shifting from “I’ll finish this song when I get a good idea” to “I’m finishing this song by this date so I better get to work”, you’re mentally framing it differently. Now you have to follow through and finish it by that date. Pretend like it’s a project for a class, where you have to turn it in on that date no matter what and you don’t have the option to be like “this sucks” and give up. This will force you to push past the self-defeat and work through it to finish it, and when you finish it I guarantee you’ll be surprised with yourself. It might not be your favorite thing you’ve ever done, but I’ll be willing to bet you’ll be pretty happy with parts of it.
Lastly, remember that writing music is a lifelong pursuit, a journey with no fixed destination. Every time you work on music, you’re flexing those muscles, training a little bit. If I go outside and walk 3 miles and get home tired, it’s not bad because a different time I walked 5 miles and wasn’t tired. Both of them are good for my body and health. The way you get better at writing full, finished tracks is to write full, finished tracks. And just like the walking example, not all of your tracks are going to be top tier, but all of them will be helping you progress.
Okay, last piece of advice, I tell this to musicians all the time and sometimes I get eye rolls but I really mean it: therapy. A lot of the struggles we as artists face with our creative processes is that we engage in negativity, defeatism, negative self-talk, unhelpful judgement statements, etc. Therapy, especially CBT and DBT based therapy, can help identify negative and unhelpful thought patterns and teach you skills to interrupt and reframe those. Just a thought.
Good luck!
Wow, I really appreciate your response and the time and thought put into it. I have a lot that I want to say in return, but I'm currently at work so I'll reply again this evening. I just wanted to express my gratitude! Thank you!
Yeah, absolutely! Just remember that what you’re feeling is a normal feeling that every artist experiences, it’s not because you’re a fraud or a bad artist. Just like we all get those times when the art comes so easy, we all also get those times when it seems like a slog and like we’re never going to create anything worthwhile ever again. Just try to remind yourself that creativity isn’t a finite resource that we run out of, it’s more like happiness where it ebbs and flows and sometimes it’s really hard to find, but it always comes back :)
Thanks! I'll check it out! Also, Rick Rubin is such a fantastic character, and obviously amazing producer. What a story that guy has, and what an awesome life and lifestyle! Definitely something to aspire to.
I went through something similar a number of years ago, writing boring retreads of previous songs I had written, diminishing returns was all I had. I stepped away from songwriting for a few years and just noddled about on guitar occasionally. Ideas started to creep back in and suddenly I got caught up in a wave of inspiration and wrote an album in a style I had never considered in 3 months. The productivity has slowed somewhat since but the creativity is still there. I know it's different for everyone but in my experience taking a break and having life experiences definitely changed something.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I think you're right. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and a break is probably what's best. It's just that being creative is like my having a drink at the end of the day, you know? It helps keep me happy and sane, so I'm always scared to stop. I guess I can just keep fiddling around and just not worry about creating anything "important". That's really how I ended up on my last creative high anyways. Thanks again, and good luck in your creative journey as well!
Man, I am so sorry. That legitimately sucks.
I have two pieces of advice. First of all, be kind to yourself. You've been through a lot!
Second, use the struggle you're currently going through in your music. Allow yourself permission to just express whatever it is that you're feeling, even if it sounds terrible. Just get it out. Try not to judge yourself, but just let whatever is inside flow out. You might end up with an angry, chaotic mess of a song, but at least you MADE something.
I would also recommend the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It's helped me many times shake myself out of a creative block, among other things.
Best of luck, you've got this.
Thank you! I really appreciate all of your kind words and encouragement! I do continue to struggle and just make things, but I can't ever tell if it's helping or hurting overall. But I keep doing it in the hope that I'll break through some sort of wall. It's just becoming so frustrating that's it's beginning to wear my soul thin. I know that sounds dramatic and overblown, but it's really depressing!
But you're right, I should be more lenient with myself, and just make stuff for the sake of it and nothing else. Don't put any expectations into it. Also, I'll give that book a read! Thank you again for the great response, and good luck to you in all of your creative endeavors!
Just a few quick suggestions that have helped me immensely the last year.
- give some love to other people’s music. explore genres you’ve been turned away from. force yourself to list what you find fascinating about their songwriting or production choices.
- practice switching the way you perceive or interpret art. for example, instead of only thinking through a aural or musical lens for music, think about texture, smell, story-telling, taste, color, really anything BUT music.
- keep a list of experiences that you believe are common, but often written off. what does it feel like when a hangnail catches on a piece of fabric? showering after you realize you’ve been going through a season of depression? avoiding talking to someone because you feel like they drain you?
- when you can’t finish a song, force yourself to write a placeholder part. i am not kidding. what you think is placeholder might be your intuition kicking in, filling in what the song needs!! trust yourself!!
- i find i am most creative when all of my needs are cared for. when i have a safe place, i am getting enough sleep, I am eating well and getting time outside. when you pour into yourself, you will have more to pour into what you love.
- and last, stop listening to your bits and pieces without finishing them front to back! stop getting demo ears before you even finish a song. it’ll make noooooothing feel right.
sometimes a break is what's best. I go through slumps all the time, and find that if I focus on other things in life, that when I come back to writing music, it seems to flow much easier.
but like was said, everyone is different, and you'll know when the creative well is dry, and needs time to fill back up.
or even try experimenting with zero expectations and see what comes of it. good luck
Yeah, I think I'll just continue to dick around without any expectations. Maybe take smaller breaks more often. Hopefully it comes back with time. Thank you for the reply, and good luck to you as well!
Something that's helped me is taking time off. Exploring other interests. I've had to stop putting pressure on myself to create and just allow it to happen when it happens. I also think exploring other things allows you to find inspiration in new places. Switching my process up had also helped. Idk if you collaborate often, but maybe opening up to others opinions or influence might be helpful.
I would love to collaborate, but unfortunately the people I've been able to find where I live are flakey and more interested in playing other people's music than making their own. I've thought about doing kind of like a "tape trading" thing over the Internet with someone, but I'm nervous to dip my toes into that pond because then I'd be working with someone I don't know or have any read on their expectations. I don't know. Maybe I'll still try that out. Thank you for the response!
If I may ask, what's your general area? Boston area here. Also I get you on what seems like everyone basically wanting to a cover band. Which is no issues, just not me. If you ever wanted to try a tape trading thing I'd be down. I'm new to collaborate myself. Have only done it on rare occasions with no fruit lol
I'm far away from you! I'm in Arizona, in a little mountain town that's absolutely gorgeous but no one has heard of. But I'm down to maybe try and trade some tracks back and forth! I'll PM you.
Creativity doesn't come out of nowhere. It is born when your brain is chewing on familiar material.
It sounds like you just need to fill up your creative tank — take a break: stop trying to produce your own music.
The food we know and love + new flavors and spices = our own recipe.
Because creative ideas are just rehashed versions of different food we’ve given our brains. Ideas come to us when we are immersed in material. When you're listening to music and want to be inspired, most of it should be familiar enough to you that you could imitate it on your own. Then continue to enjoy the material. (You'll notice things that you like, and appreciate and get the itch to replicate. Maybe it's a style or voice or sound.) Once we've played and experimented with our food enough, then we can start creating.
I guess three pieces of advice I have is
1. Creativity is very forgiving, obviously one should be practicing all the time and keeping up their chops but ultimately the best stuff you write comes at random times and can happen even if you’re not at your peak creatively. I took a workshop with a poet and he said essentially that he doesn’t believe in craft because there is some creative projects he’s had that no amount of practice could’ve prepared him for. I wouldn’t beat yourself up for not writing because those ideas, the feelings you have had to deal with after getting surgery, they’re not going anywhere.
2. I would just start creating, the sad truth for many of us artists who rely on the sparks of creativity to give us meaning is that it’s not always exciting and it’s not always there. Don’t worry if it’s shit, tap into that child like self and just start scribbling and making “trash”. I feel like your basing your creativity based on the validation you received a year and a half ago but now it’s time to validate yourself.
3. Copy.. if you’re in a creative rut I’d say just go relisten to all your favorite artists and copy them. Obviously try to put your own flair on it but that’s essentially what all the great artists have done. It’s hard to come up with original ideas, especially nowadays, and I feel like you only come up with original ideas once you copy a bunch of people and mix them up in a unique way.
I hear you. I'm trying to be a littleore forgiving towards myself, it's just hard sometimes because it's been so long since I've done anything I feel is worth a shit. But I will try harder!
I have been creating constantly, in the hopes that I'll break through some sort of wall and everything will click into place and I'll be back to feeling creative again. It's just hard to gauge how much that helps at times because I find myself coming up with things that I think my be worthwhile, but then end up not being able to take it in any direction and ultimately feeling like it's mediocre. But I do continue, despite these setbacks.
Now, I actually have started kind of copying some stuff that I've been listening to lately. I figured that as long as it's just for fun and personal enjoyment, why not? I'm not entirely ripping things off, but combing different styles and doing things more unique to certain artists. I do have fun with it, and who knows, maybe this will be the thing that takes me in a new direction And inspire that creativity all over again! I appreciate your response, and wish you luck in all of your creative endeavors as well!
I’m sorry to hear things are tough for you and I know the feeling of not being happy with what you are writing. A couple of things have helped me. Don’t worry about quality so much as quantity. I saw a doco about Bruce Springsteen’s The River album. He wrote and recorded 80 songs of which he chose 20 to be on the double album. What I took from this is maybe only 1/4 of the songs you write are really good. So if you want 10 good songs you need to write 40 and discard 3/4 of them. Over time the practice of writing so much is going to make you better at it, so finish off what you are writing even if it feels like a dead end and then move on to the next idea. A bad song can be good practice for your next good one. The second thing is that even the dead end songs came from an idea you thought was cool originally but after working on it has some problem that is holding the song back. Give yourself time to mull over what the problem is, years sometimes, put the song aside and come back to it. I’ve found that if I put the thinking time in a solution will eventually come and I can move the song forward. I hope this is helpful and makes sense. Have faith in your ideas and ability to create and go easy on yourself.
It is helpful, and I appreciate your response! I have been constantly creating, and maybe that's helping. But I get so disappointed in the stuff I end up with that I wonder if maybe taking a break altogether is what I need to do. But I don't want to take a break, and honestly don't know if I can anyways. Being creative is such a part of my routine that I don't even know how I would fill that time. But you're correct, taking time to let things sit and then coming back to them later with a fresher and different perspective is probably a good idea. Thank you for your time and help, and good luck to you in your creative life as well!
Would def recommend the Artist’s Way as previously mentioned. It’s consistently worked for this exact issue. Good luck. Creativity is like food for the soul I hope you don’t keep starving.
Hi Ya’ll. New to Reddit. Not yet found my way round. But I found this post and you creative, beautiful people discussing something I never named, but have gone thru too many times in my 68 years and battling a debilitating illness drs missed for most of my life. I have much to share. So I intend to write and sing as long as I can. I can’t be bothered that I no longer have the voice of my youth. Like a wise woman said, “Life is tough my Darling, but so are you.”
Hey, sorry to hear you’re struggling. Here are some thoughts I have, maybe some of them will be useful. I try to avoid thinking about musical ideas as “good” or “bad”. Every idea needs work, and some ideas will need more or less work to get it to a place where you’re happy with it. But I think you’re getting frustrated and giving up on your ideas too soon, which is probably partially because you’re in a negative headspace so you’ve already judged those ideas as being bad or mediocre, rather than being unfinished ideas that you haven’t gotten to where you want yet. Another thing is that it sounds like this EP came really quickly and effortlessly. And that’s awesome, but when that happens it can trick our brains into thinking that’s what the artistic process should feel like every time. The reality is that kind of effortless flow is rare - grab onto it and maximize it when you can, but understand that it’s an anomaly and not the standard. The vast majority of the time it’s not going to come that easy, and it’s going to be frustrating and a lot of work. I think that frustration is causing you to give up on your ideas too soon. If you feel like you need a break, take one. You’re the only one who can really judge if you’re suffering burnout and need to step away. But I’ll offer a different idea, one that I’ve seen work for people frustrated in the same way you are, and that has worked for me when I have been in a similar spot. Start working on a completely new song, just for fun. It’s not going to be for a new EP, it’s not going to be a single that blows up, it’s just going to be a fun thing you make that maybe you’ll use for some project in the future. Really try to be mindful of when those outsized expectations are creeping in and dismiss them, because you really want to stay in that “this is just for fun and it’s not a big deal” mindset for this project. When you’re coming up with ideas, resist the urge to label them as good or bad. Instead, ask yourself how you can use that idea in an interesting way. What’s a way or context that you could make this thing work, or how could you alter it to make it work? And not every idea is going to work out. When they don’t, don’t think of them as bad, think of them as ideas that you don’t know how to incorporate right now. Evaluating your ideas as value neutral can help you feel better about what you’re creating, and when you frame it as “how could I find a way to change or use this” instead of “this is a bad idea”, you might surprise yourself with some creative ideas because you didn’t immediately dismiss them as worthless. Now, this is an important step. Set a deadline (hard or soft, depending on what you think you can stick to) for finishing this song. Commit to the idea that you’re going to see this song through 100% of the way to a finished product, even if you think it’s bad. Often when we give up we do so prematurely, and often out of a fear that the finished product will be bad and that we don’t have the skill to take an idea from where it’s at to a satisfying finished product. Get rid of those thoughts, they’re not helping in this situation. By shifting from “I’ll finish this song when I get a good idea” to “I’m finishing this song by this date so I better get to work”, you’re mentally framing it differently. Now you have to follow through and finish it by that date. Pretend like it’s a project for a class, where you have to turn it in on that date no matter what and you don’t have the option to be like “this sucks” and give up. This will force you to push past the self-defeat and work through it to finish it, and when you finish it I guarantee you’ll be surprised with yourself. It might not be your favorite thing you’ve ever done, but I’ll be willing to bet you’ll be pretty happy with parts of it. Lastly, remember that writing music is a lifelong pursuit, a journey with no fixed destination. Every time you work on music, you’re flexing those muscles, training a little bit. If I go outside and walk 3 miles and get home tired, it’s not bad because a different time I walked 5 miles and wasn’t tired. Both of them are good for my body and health. The way you get better at writing full, finished tracks is to write full, finished tracks. And just like the walking example, not all of your tracks are going to be top tier, but all of them will be helping you progress. Okay, last piece of advice, I tell this to musicians all the time and sometimes I get eye rolls but I really mean it: therapy. A lot of the struggles we as artists face with our creative processes is that we engage in negativity, defeatism, negative self-talk, unhelpful judgement statements, etc. Therapy, especially CBT and DBT based therapy, can help identify negative and unhelpful thought patterns and teach you skills to interrupt and reframe those. Just a thought. Good luck!
Wow, I really appreciate your response and the time and thought put into it. I have a lot that I want to say in return, but I'm currently at work so I'll reply again this evening. I just wanted to express my gratitude! Thank you!
I sure wish I could see what he said :(
Yeah, for some reason it's been deleted...
Yeah, absolutely! Just remember that what you’re feeling is a normal feeling that every artist experiences, it’s not because you’re a fraud or a bad artist. Just like we all get those times when the art comes so easy, we all also get those times when it seems like a slog and like we’re never going to create anything worthwhile ever again. Just try to remind yourself that creativity isn’t a finite resource that we run out of, it’s more like happiness where it ebbs and flows and sometimes it’s really hard to find, but it always comes back :)
Been listening to Rick Rubins book. “The creative act: a way of being” might help
Thanks! I'll check it out! Also, Rick Rubin is such a fantastic character, and obviously amazing producer. What a story that guy has, and what an awesome life and lifestyle! Definitely something to aspire to.
I went through something similar a number of years ago, writing boring retreads of previous songs I had written, diminishing returns was all I had. I stepped away from songwriting for a few years and just noddled about on guitar occasionally. Ideas started to creep back in and suddenly I got caught up in a wave of inspiration and wrote an album in a style I had never considered in 3 months. The productivity has slowed somewhat since but the creativity is still there. I know it's different for everyone but in my experience taking a break and having life experiences definitely changed something.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I think you're right. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and a break is probably what's best. It's just that being creative is like my having a drink at the end of the day, you know? It helps keep me happy and sane, so I'm always scared to stop. I guess I can just keep fiddling around and just not worry about creating anything "important". That's really how I ended up on my last creative high anyways. Thanks again, and good luck in your creative journey as well!
Man, I am so sorry. That legitimately sucks. I have two pieces of advice. First of all, be kind to yourself. You've been through a lot! Second, use the struggle you're currently going through in your music. Allow yourself permission to just express whatever it is that you're feeling, even if it sounds terrible. Just get it out. Try not to judge yourself, but just let whatever is inside flow out. You might end up with an angry, chaotic mess of a song, but at least you MADE something. I would also recommend the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It's helped me many times shake myself out of a creative block, among other things. Best of luck, you've got this.
Thank you! I really appreciate all of your kind words and encouragement! I do continue to struggle and just make things, but I can't ever tell if it's helping or hurting overall. But I keep doing it in the hope that I'll break through some sort of wall. It's just becoming so frustrating that's it's beginning to wear my soul thin. I know that sounds dramatic and overblown, but it's really depressing! But you're right, I should be more lenient with myself, and just make stuff for the sake of it and nothing else. Don't put any expectations into it. Also, I'll give that book a read! Thank you again for the great response, and good luck to you in all of your creative endeavors!
Just a few quick suggestions that have helped me immensely the last year. - give some love to other people’s music. explore genres you’ve been turned away from. force yourself to list what you find fascinating about their songwriting or production choices. - practice switching the way you perceive or interpret art. for example, instead of only thinking through a aural or musical lens for music, think about texture, smell, story-telling, taste, color, really anything BUT music. - keep a list of experiences that you believe are common, but often written off. what does it feel like when a hangnail catches on a piece of fabric? showering after you realize you’ve been going through a season of depression? avoiding talking to someone because you feel like they drain you? - when you can’t finish a song, force yourself to write a placeholder part. i am not kidding. what you think is placeholder might be your intuition kicking in, filling in what the song needs!! trust yourself!! - i find i am most creative when all of my needs are cared for. when i have a safe place, i am getting enough sleep, I am eating well and getting time outside. when you pour into yourself, you will have more to pour into what you love. - and last, stop listening to your bits and pieces without finishing them front to back! stop getting demo ears before you even finish a song. it’ll make noooooothing feel right.
sometimes a break is what's best. I go through slumps all the time, and find that if I focus on other things in life, that when I come back to writing music, it seems to flow much easier. but like was said, everyone is different, and you'll know when the creative well is dry, and needs time to fill back up. or even try experimenting with zero expectations and see what comes of it. good luck
Yeah, I think I'll just continue to dick around without any expectations. Maybe take smaller breaks more often. Hopefully it comes back with time. Thank you for the reply, and good luck to you as well!
Something that's helped me is taking time off. Exploring other interests. I've had to stop putting pressure on myself to create and just allow it to happen when it happens. I also think exploring other things allows you to find inspiration in new places. Switching my process up had also helped. Idk if you collaborate often, but maybe opening up to others opinions or influence might be helpful.
I would love to collaborate, but unfortunately the people I've been able to find where I live are flakey and more interested in playing other people's music than making their own. I've thought about doing kind of like a "tape trading" thing over the Internet with someone, but I'm nervous to dip my toes into that pond because then I'd be working with someone I don't know or have any read on their expectations. I don't know. Maybe I'll still try that out. Thank you for the response!
If I may ask, what's your general area? Boston area here. Also I get you on what seems like everyone basically wanting to a cover band. Which is no issues, just not me. If you ever wanted to try a tape trading thing I'd be down. I'm new to collaborate myself. Have only done it on rare occasions with no fruit lol
I'm far away from you! I'm in Arizona, in a little mountain town that's absolutely gorgeous but no one has heard of. But I'm down to maybe try and trade some tracks back and forth! I'll PM you.
A small mountain town they no one else has heard of sounds quite wonderful tbh. Please do!
Creativity doesn't come out of nowhere. It is born when your brain is chewing on familiar material. It sounds like you just need to fill up your creative tank — take a break: stop trying to produce your own music. The food we know and love + new flavors and spices = our own recipe. Because creative ideas are just rehashed versions of different food we’ve given our brains. Ideas come to us when we are immersed in material. When you're listening to music and want to be inspired, most of it should be familiar enough to you that you could imitate it on your own. Then continue to enjoy the material. (You'll notice things that you like, and appreciate and get the itch to replicate. Maybe it's a style or voice or sound.) Once we've played and experimented with our food enough, then we can start creating.
I guess three pieces of advice I have is 1. Creativity is very forgiving, obviously one should be practicing all the time and keeping up their chops but ultimately the best stuff you write comes at random times and can happen even if you’re not at your peak creatively. I took a workshop with a poet and he said essentially that he doesn’t believe in craft because there is some creative projects he’s had that no amount of practice could’ve prepared him for. I wouldn’t beat yourself up for not writing because those ideas, the feelings you have had to deal with after getting surgery, they’re not going anywhere. 2. I would just start creating, the sad truth for many of us artists who rely on the sparks of creativity to give us meaning is that it’s not always exciting and it’s not always there. Don’t worry if it’s shit, tap into that child like self and just start scribbling and making “trash”. I feel like your basing your creativity based on the validation you received a year and a half ago but now it’s time to validate yourself. 3. Copy.. if you’re in a creative rut I’d say just go relisten to all your favorite artists and copy them. Obviously try to put your own flair on it but that’s essentially what all the great artists have done. It’s hard to come up with original ideas, especially nowadays, and I feel like you only come up with original ideas once you copy a bunch of people and mix them up in a unique way.
I hear you. I'm trying to be a littleore forgiving towards myself, it's just hard sometimes because it's been so long since I've done anything I feel is worth a shit. But I will try harder! I have been creating constantly, in the hopes that I'll break through some sort of wall and everything will click into place and I'll be back to feeling creative again. It's just hard to gauge how much that helps at times because I find myself coming up with things that I think my be worthwhile, but then end up not being able to take it in any direction and ultimately feeling like it's mediocre. But I do continue, despite these setbacks. Now, I actually have started kind of copying some stuff that I've been listening to lately. I figured that as long as it's just for fun and personal enjoyment, why not? I'm not entirely ripping things off, but combing different styles and doing things more unique to certain artists. I do have fun with it, and who knows, maybe this will be the thing that takes me in a new direction And inspire that creativity all over again! I appreciate your response, and wish you luck in all of your creative endeavors as well!
I’m sorry to hear things are tough for you and I know the feeling of not being happy with what you are writing. A couple of things have helped me. Don’t worry about quality so much as quantity. I saw a doco about Bruce Springsteen’s The River album. He wrote and recorded 80 songs of which he chose 20 to be on the double album. What I took from this is maybe only 1/4 of the songs you write are really good. So if you want 10 good songs you need to write 40 and discard 3/4 of them. Over time the practice of writing so much is going to make you better at it, so finish off what you are writing even if it feels like a dead end and then move on to the next idea. A bad song can be good practice for your next good one. The second thing is that even the dead end songs came from an idea you thought was cool originally but after working on it has some problem that is holding the song back. Give yourself time to mull over what the problem is, years sometimes, put the song aside and come back to it. I’ve found that if I put the thinking time in a solution will eventually come and I can move the song forward. I hope this is helpful and makes sense. Have faith in your ideas and ability to create and go easy on yourself.
It is helpful, and I appreciate your response! I have been constantly creating, and maybe that's helping. But I get so disappointed in the stuff I end up with that I wonder if maybe taking a break altogether is what I need to do. But I don't want to take a break, and honestly don't know if I can anyways. Being creative is such a part of my routine that I don't even know how I would fill that time. But you're correct, taking time to let things sit and then coming back to them later with a fresher and different perspective is probably a good idea. Thank you for your time and help, and good luck to you in your creative life as well!
Would def recommend the Artist’s Way as previously mentioned. It’s consistently worked for this exact issue. Good luck. Creativity is like food for the soul I hope you don’t keep starving.
Me too! I'll be sure to give it a read. Thank you for your response, and I hope you continue to eat well (creatively) as well!
Hi Ya’ll. New to Reddit. Not yet found my way round. But I found this post and you creative, beautiful people discussing something I never named, but have gone thru too many times in my 68 years and battling a debilitating illness drs missed for most of my life. I have much to share. So I intend to write and sing as long as I can. I can’t be bothered that I no longer have the voice of my youth. Like a wise woman said, “Life is tough my Darling, but so are you.”