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Re: What do YOU do when creativity dries up?



yes, this reminds me me of "gumption traps" described in zen and the
art of motorcycle maintenance (i guess 90% of people here have
probably read this book, but if you haven't, go get a copy and read it
right away). minimising gumption traps is an important part of
allowing creative freedom and should be tackled - preferably when
you're not intending to actually do some recording. internal gumption
traps, like "fear" are obviously more difficult to deal with, but
mechanical/logistical/physical traps are easily dealt with and build
confidence.
also - i find it's a good idea to power up the studio and have
everything ready to go - before i plan on doing anything. i'll set up
- go and do something else - then come back and just dive in.

On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 4:27 PM,  <kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com> wrote:
> Quoting BC <compguy2@comcast.net>:
>>
>> Would anyone like to share their strategies for minimizing time spent in
>> the creative desert?
>>
>
> In pondering this question, I've concluded that my normal state is to 
> lack
> energy and motivation for music.  I have a love-hate relationship with 
> music
> in the sense that if I'm in my studio I'm not doing something else --
> particularly when the weather is great and I want to be outoors.  The 
> only
> thing that I do consistantly is to play a Navajo flute and I just play 
> it to
> relax.
>
> The thing that stands between me and music-making is fear and associated
> negative feelings.  Some automatic thoughts are triggered:
>
> . Will my equipment work when I turn it on or will I end up spending the
> entire session troubleshooting or otherwise frustrating myself?
>
> . Will I end up listening to a passage repeatedly while unable to add
> anything to the work?
>
> . Will I, after a few hours, walk away feeling as though I wasted the 
> time?
>
> . Is this even worth the time and effort?
>
> ... what underlies all of these questions is fear -- the fear of failure.
>  Sometimes the fear is debilitating -- I don't even walk into the 
> studio.  I
> don't want to face it or think about it.
>
> To clean up and re-arrange the studio's equipment and furniture helps me 
> to
> overcome the fear.  Also, to test/calibrate the equipment helps, too.
>
> Then I may just pose little experiments -- i.e. (what happens if I 
> connect
> gadget 'b' to gadget 'f' or some non-standard configuration.
>
> I keep an external recorder (a ML9600) "hot" and ready to record, too.
>
> In other words, I have to distract myself from negative thoughts with 
> some
> kind of action -- even if it is just to pull out a vacuum cleaner and 
> clean
> stuff up.
>
> -- Kevin
>
>