Life isn't all blank pages and unused data storage. Open DAWs, manuscript paper, or blank canvas. But to fill those intimidating frenemies (because admit it, there is something beautiful about the draw of not yet drawn upon scratchpad.) we have to create content.
I'm sure you have a favorite way of getting the juices flowing. Hopefully several. Some people just take time off. Go meditate, exercise, watch a film, or whatever. Diversion is a way to recharge. The trouble I've always had with that is I don't want the diversion to end. Mileage may vary significantly with this tactic, but for me, one of two things happens. One, I exhaust myself to such a point I can't even think about writing, or two, I get so "diverted" by my activities I wind up wanting to do nothing else.
Still, no matter how many tricks you have up your sleeves, there comes a time when it seems that the well has gone dry. It's for those times that you have gone through every card in the Tarot, watched Die Hard for the nth time ('tis the season after all), listened to Dark Side of the Moon, chanted every mantra you can think of that it would seem like everything you try doesn't thrill you that I propose this radical approach. Yes, more radical than typing run-on sentences for your adoring readers to smirk at! Find someone who is asking for help?
Yeah, they are out there. Always out there. It's much easier to help unstick a stuck writer than to unstick yourself. Well, maybe not. I'm just saying try it. Some people may call in mentoring, but I shy away from that kind of commitment. Too heavy for me, man. Don't label it. But in the process, you may find that two futures can be unlocked by sharing your past with someone else. Hey, the alternative is to ask for help. I say, don't be lame. Rather than ask for help, give it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. But what better way to not appear desperate than to be the hero. Get someone going, and you just might find the thing you are looking for.
It's worth a try, and in the worse case, you know how misery loves company? Well, it's true. So Happy Holidays, everyone, and help someone whenever you get the chance.
Here's me shooting off a quick video to show a friend some possible variations for a chord progression he's working on. Don't know that he'll use any of the ideas, but he seems busy trying new ones. For me, the exercise was totally worth doing and got me involved in thinking about chord voicings and harmonic structures.
