Creative Constipation
One topic of discussion at the last Cartoonists Meetup I attended was creator’s block. At least one other creative was at the point in his process that he was just staring at a blank page with nothing to put down on it. I find myself in that position all the time, and for over a decade it’s been what has kept me from drawing.
The first drawing in this blog (posted on Jan. 1) was a simple, goofy little sketch that took me all of 2 minutes to do. But I felt it was more important to post something than to focus on quality.
Friday, Saturday, and today, I’ve felt myself looking at that blank page again. I initially felt guilty for not posting daily, and I somehow rationalized to myself that the two extra pieces I posted on Thursday somehow ‘caught me up’ through Saturday, so I wasn’t as motivated to post on those days.
Tonight, I sat down to draw — again, just anything — and I just couldn’t. Maybe it was the noise in the house: the TV is on (Family Guy), the dishwasher is running, the dryer is running, and I’m finding it difficult to hear my own thoughts. Then there are all the distractions: Twitter, tumblr, World of Warcraft, MacWorld Expo rumors…you get the idea. I’m trying to put those aside, as well.
My plan after posting this entry is to sit down with my sketchbook and listen to some music, hoping to drown out the background noise to see if that helps.
I keep saying this to others, so I’ll state it here, as well: the fear of failure is what has kept me from drawing for the past decade and a half. I can no longer be afraid of sucking — the first stuff I put out there is going to suck, and I just have to accept that. It will suck, but it will improve. Eventually it will get good, and maybe even great before it’s all over.
So, I guess I’m ready to let the SuckFest commence….
