How do you deal with artist's/writer's block?

[Fictitious_Spice]

Hello there! I am an avid artist and writer. For a long time I've had the urge to write and draw more stories but have never had any time. Recently, I have more time to do these hobbies. However, when I sit down to write or draw, I don't have inspiration but have the motivation. How do I get out of this sticky situation?

[VibrantFox]

random writing prompts and nonsense sketches

it seems kinda backwards but anytime i feel stuck the one thing that's helped is just mindlessly easing myself into the task so i'll either doodle whatever random idea comes to mind or pick a random prompt list and roughly the same from writing

like for getting into a writing flow using the writing.prompts instagram or tumblr has been a good help in the past and then from there just goin kind of improv

if i've already got an idea in mind but i don't know how to execute it them i'll toss open notepad or something and just jot down ideas in bullets or random paragraphs till i settle on something i like and it's about the same with art

above all tho is just not forcing things too much because it can do more harm than good in some cases so if it doesn't hit don't feel discourage and just try again when you feel ready. it's like that bike/horse metaphor that people use all the time or "if at first"

[RainbowCat]

Maybe here's something that can help you!

Writer's Block

Personally, reading helps me the most with writer's block.

[darthmongoose]

Most of the time when I have artists or writer's block there are two root causes:

1. I'm tired or burned out.
2. I've got stuck and don't know how to get out of a plot hole or draw something tricky.

In case 1, really a break is the only solution. I find working out or painting some minis (I collect Reaper minis for D&D as well as Warhammer) or hanging out and watching something with my partner is sometimes the break I need to come back refreshed.

In case 2, I usually find taking a totally different approach to the drawing, panel, scene or storyarc helps, like "Okay, this scene where the detective corners the thief in a mansion isn't working because why doesn't she just escape? Also this puts the climactic encounter too early! ... I know! What if we had them meet on the boat on the way to New York! It's efficient because they'll meet on the way to a place the story needed to go anyway, and it'll be more intense because she can't just escape from a boat!" or with drawing, it's often like "HMM, this panel of them interacting looks awkard... What if having it pulled out like this, I pulled it right in looking over this person's shoulder?" or "Ugh, this cover layout is really blah... I'm gonna look at some cool comics covers for inspiration and maybe grab some reference material for poses." Try drawing out a bunch of rough thumbnails that all take totally different approaches to the problem. It usually helps!

[Lensing]

As long as you have motivation and ideas then you can just start.
When you don´t have ideas then start anyway.
Inspiration comes after you started working not before.
I don´t believe in the inspiration part and that´s how I deal with blocks,
I don´t need inspiration to clean my home or to brush my teeth, I do it and
I handle writing and drawing like that

[smokesalty]

Honestly: just do it anyway.

Put something on the page, even if it's bad. You can always go back and see what does/doesn't work and you'll actually have something to work with instead of a blank page.

For me, I just make a start and see how it goes. Usually I'll at least be able to say I got something done that I can improve upon later. I can always re-write it and see the improvement, so I don't feel the pressure to write something amazing. As for artists block, same thing for me. I will just doodle random things. If something I like pops up I'll use it, if not I can scrap it.

If none of these methods are working, I'll just take a break.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I read/watch/play stuff. Usually, one of two things happen:

• I think it's really cool, and I go "wow, I wanna do something like that!" BAM! Inspiration!
• I think it's not so cool, and I go 'I have a real bone to pick with how they handled XYZ here, and here ... I bet it'll be much better if they just ..." BAM! Inspiration

[NickRowler]

You could start by just drawing stuff you like. It can be just fanart. Sometimes there is a pressure to post everything online, but sometimes just taking time to do silly doodles just for yourself is good. Sometimes those doodles can spark inspiration for something bigger.

I also sometimes will write notes and do character sketches when something does pop into my head. These aren't fully formed stories but maybe later on you could revisit them and develop them into something more. I found my old note book from college years recently and I decided to make a short comic out of one of the idea I wrote in there. And sometimes thinking about a time when you were younger and thought "I want to make a story about ____" and sort of working off of that.

[powerplantanimations]

I force myself to write even when I don't want to do it. Scheduling helps.

[xkdeSskf]

There is no constant way to help as it depends from one person to another.
I feel that listening to music soothes my mind for me. Songs that give off the right mood for you will allow you to draw and read. If not, just doodle or take up some random art challenges from websites.
For writer's block, go out, walk and observe people, objects, anything! Even going out to buy groceries will do. For me ideas will just spill into my head and I take photos and make notes in my phone so the idea will not be lost
Hope this helps!

[system]

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