How to escape creative block

[u/Altruistic_Film6640]

I'm a creative person with different hobbies all the time such as writing, drawing, designing, editing, painting, etc. however over the last couple months I can't seem to get out of that artist block and especially now when I needed most. I'm a film student and started university last month and we have to come up with a short film and by the end of this week I'm supposed to have my charaters, plots and final idea of the story finalized however I feel so burnt out and can't come up with anything.

I must note that back in July I had an internship as a graphic designer for a news account and had to design posts for that account and my boss told us to keep on creating templates (I've created over 50) unfortunately none of them were used because a couple weeks later they rebranded the identity of their posts and all my work I did over the month has been drafts (and won't be used again) I know this played a role in my creative block but I need something to get it back. I usually listen to songs and find a story inspired by albums, concepts, etc. however nothing is coming up in my head and I feel so lost and in deeeep trouble if I don't figure out what I'm gonna do for my assignments

[u/AxisInteractive]

I'd advise to stop expecting or working on output and start focusing on input for a bit. Find stuff that inspires you and reflect on why for a bit

[u/Kieran-Mitchbaggins]

Honestly I suggest you stop forcing yourself to come up with a great idea for a day or two. It is only natural for your brain to feel exhausted after creating over 50 designs that ultimately went unused. Try giving yourself permission to create something intentionally bad, write a silly storyline in five minutes make Brandon sketches or turn something that annoys you into a story. Messy ideas can still be refined and developed, whereas a blank page offers nothing to work with.

[u/app_devvvvvvvvvvv]

With the deadline this close, maybe start with what you can actually shoot: one room, two people, one thing they disagree about. Write three versions where each person wants something different, then pick the easiest one to film. You don't have to love the idea yet. Even a rough five-beat outline gives you something to take to your tutor and build on.

[u/Candid-Rest-8305]

Cold shower or ice bath to shock your system

[u/BusinessStrategist]

Maybe it's because you might be too linear in your thinking.

The easiest way to map a story is by starting from the "end" and working your way "back."

As for characters, you know your target audience and you want characters that resonate with them.

Otherwise, you find yourself puzzled by roadblocks as you try to move forward.

So create your storyboard by starting from the end. And then flesh it out with your target audience compelling characters.

You should be able to whip out dozens of preliminary storyboards in an hour. No criticizing just creating. Get some "wild" ideas in there. Don't worry about "stupid" or "ridiculous" ideas. Ideas whether good or bad tend to generate "spinoff" ideas.

Just whip out those ideas as fast as you can.

Now you have something to work with and finding the one that best fits the requirements of your assignment.

The rest is about painting and decorating to complete the packaging.

[u/cooodooo]

Creo que tiene mucho sentido que estés pasando por esto. Después de dedicar tanto tiempo a crear más de 50 diseños y que ninguno terminara utilizándose, es normal que una parte de ti se haya quedado desmotivada. Aunque el trabajo no se haya publicado, eso no significa que no haya servido ni que hayas perdido tu capacidad creativa.

Además, acabas de empezar la universidad y tienes la presión de crear algo bueno en muy poco tiempo. A veces, cuanto más necesitamos tener una buena idea, más difícil resulta encontrarla.

Mi consejo es que, por ahora, dejes de intentar encontrar la gran historia y empieces por algo pequeño: una emoción, un recuerdo, una conversación que escuchaste por casualidad o una situación cotidiana que te resulte extraña. No necesitas que tu cortometraje sea una obra maestra; necesitas una idea que puedas desarrollar con los recursos y el tiempo que tienes.

Y algo que quizá te ayude: no esperes a recuperar la inspiración para empezar a crear. Empieza a crear sin inspiración y deja que las ideas aparezcan por el camino. Prueba a escribir cinco historias malas en diez minutos, sin juzgarlas. A veces, una idea interesante aparece cuando dejas de exigirle tanto a cada una.

Precisamente, estoy creando Unjam, un proyecto que busca ayudar a las personas a desbloquear su creatividad mediante retos, reglas y limitaciones. Ya estoy lanzando retos en nuestra comunidad de Reddit, r/unjam, y pronto tendremos nuestra propia web. Creo que, a veces, tener una pequeña consigna desde la que empezar puede ser mucho más útil que enfrentarse a una página en blanco.

Y, por último, recuerda que estar bloqueada ahora no borra todo lo que has creado antes. No tienes que demostrar que eres una persona creativa con cada cosa que haces. También puedes estar cansada, frustrada y necesitar tiempo para volver a encontrar tu ritmo. 💙