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 The Bravura Newsletter provides valuable information that you can use to reach your music career goals and to help you gain a balanced and enjoyable life whilst working within the fast-paced Music Industry.
Is your creativity blocked? Hi there, Are you a song-writer and finding that your creativity is currently blocked and you are finding it difficult or, you are unable to write any music or lyrics for your next album or music project? Are you working in the music industry and having difficulties in writing a report that has a deadline looming? Are you feeling that the more you try to write and be creative, the worse your 'block' gets? Many artists have a real fear of getting into a blocked state - just hearing of it can give some of you the jitters! It gets worse also, if either someone else or you yourself, imposes a deadline on your creativity - depending on your personality, attitudes and beliefs, deadlines can either spur you into action or can leave you completely paralysed! Let's take a look at the experiences of Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough) when he was trying to write his fifth album. The following is either a précis of, or are excerpts of an article written by Craig Mclean July 25, 2006. You can read the full article by going to: http://www.myspace.com/badlydrawnboy and check out his Biog. He [Damon Gough] had just signed to EMI, having previously and successfully written 4 albums when signed to XL. He started his fifth album and ran into difficulties - not necessarily a total writing block - but certainly the songs he was writing 'have not turned to album-worthy gold…things ain't good.' Gough goes on to say "I think I lost grip on what I was actually trying to do,"…"I had this goal in my head of putting out five albums in five years,…that was my big mistake. That was stupid. In a way I rushed it. At the end of those five weeks [in the studio] I didn't feel it was going in a direction I liked. And I just walked away from it and left those songs alone." So a devastated Damon Gough abandoned this fifth album, which was a massive decision to make. Up to that point it had been as though Gough 'had led a charmed creative life', but having started a new chapter of his songwriting career, 'the wheels came off'. 'Musicians are not meant to talk too much about failed projects. Outsiders - fans, 'industry observers' - might begin to think the musician has feet of clay. That they've lost their mojo. Those concerned with the money aspect of an artist might worry about their 'brand' being tarnished. Publicly discussing - over and over again - their creative collywobbles, the musician might be paralysed by The Fear too.' 'The other reason that artists are not meant to dwell on abandoned records is that this raises expectations for the record that actually does materialise. It's gotta be extra-specially awesome, right? After all that grief over shonky songs, the artist must be 200 per cent cock-a-hoop with the ones that do see the light of day. And who can live up to that?' 'Well, hang on to your tea-cosies, for Badly Drawn Boy has snatched bold victory from the jaws of sticky defeat. At the second go, and with some ongoing difficulty, he's finally made his fifth album. It's called Born In The UK. It's great.' So you can see even big stars can have difficulties with their creativity! But what can you do about it if you are in the grip of a block? The following Tips may help to get you out of the mire. Tip 1: Get those creative juices flowing! A great way to get your creativity out and flowing well is to undertake a daily practice of writing absolutely anything. You don't have to be a song writer to gain the benefit of this exercise. All you need to do each morning, before you start your day, is to write 3 pages of absolutely anything. It is best to do this longhand and you don't need to be writing a masterpiece - you can use it as a 'dump sheet' - a time to dump every little irritation, worry, funny, chaotic thought that you have clogging up your brain that is blocking your creativity. This exercise comes from a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and is 'A Course in Discovering and Recovering your Creative Self'. In the book Julia states: "The morning pages [as she refers to this writing practice] are the primary tool of creative recovery." (page 11). In the book, Juila Cameron, also explains that this writing exercise is not for anyone else's eyes and that once you have written the pages each morning, even you are not meant to read them for a good few weeks, if ever. Going back to Badly Drawn Boy's experience, he says, "I set myself an objective, a task: I'd sit down every day, predominantly at the piano, and try to get a song out each day." So you see even he undertook some kind of daily writing to help him through his creative blocks! Tip 2: Quieten your gremlin! We have talked about Gremlins before in another newsletter - take a look at: http://www.bravura-group.com/show-newsletter.php?edition=haveyoubeengremlind_feb06.html However just as a reminder, your gremlin is the critical thoughts you have in your head that say nasty things such as: "you call that a song?" or if you're writing a report: "That's rubbish, you can't even spell, let alone punctuate" - your thoughts can be pretty damaging to your creative self, so it's a good idea to realise that your gremlin is out to get you and stop you from producing more of your great creative work - whatever medium it comes in. So to quieten the gremlin you can resort to the exercises in my previous newsletter, but undertaking the 'Morning Pages' as explained above in Tip 1, is also a great way to keep your gremlin harnessed. Tip 3: Gain some inspiration. The following exercise is also taken from The Artist's Way and is great for nurturing your 'creative child'. The exercise is called The Artist Date. The idea is that you take yourself on a weekly 'date' with just you and your creative child inside of you - no-one else is invited! Where do you go? You could go for a long walk in the countryside; you could go the cinema, or ballet or opera. However your 'dates' don't have to cost you anything. You could spend a couple of hours watching the sun set or rise - whatever takes you fancy. When you are out on these 'dates' listen to your creative child within and hear what he or she is saying. Let your imagination run wild with the experiences that you have - which increases your capacity for your creativity. Don't let yourself put up barriers to stop these little jaunts - such as: "you can't afford it" or "you haven't the time". Let this be an investment into your creativity - if you have creative deadlines to complete - can you afford not to take time out to go on these dates? And don't let anyone else encroach on this time with your creative child - this is your time together and you must stick to it, to help you remove those insufferable creative blocks! I'll finish this newsletter with a final excerpt from Craig Mclean's article about Badly Drawn Boy: 'He [Gough] got there in the end. "It's been the most difficult record I've made to date," he admits. "But maybe that's all my fault. Maybe it's my demons that have made that happen. Or maybe it's just that I'm trying to seize an opportunity that I've been given. It's kinda been humbling to have a failed project, and regroup."' I hope that this newsletter has given you food for thought and been able to help you through some blocks of your own. However, if you are finding it tough going, then check out at my Overcome Writer's Block package on my website: http://www.bravura-group.com/package-writers-block.php and/or send me an email to arrange a complimentary session to see how I can help you. So is your creativity blocked? With very best wishes, With very best wishes,  Bravura Group helping you brave the music industry http://www.bravura-group.com t: 01246 231 249 / 0845 456 460 e: lindsey@bravura-group.com I work with signed and unsigned artists and personnel working in the Music Industry who want to become more productive, creative and ultimately more successful in their music careers, whilst enjoying a more enriched, fulfilling and balanced personal life. If you have received this copy of the Bravura newsletter from a friend or colleague and would like to receive future copies, please visit www.bravura-group.com to subscribe. Thank you. |
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