ESL Blogs

A while ago, I had a task to write lyrics and come up with a vocal party for 5 instrumental songs.

As always, the crisis of inspiration came out of nowhere.

The worst timing ever.

I'm listening to the instrumentals, and they're good, but there's nothing in my head. Nada, nichts, zero. An empty bubble of brain cannot synthesize material out of total emptiness.

What do I do?

First thing, I fight off panic. Anxiety is a good old pastime for an extremely emotional and active modern young woman, but more often than not it's totally unhelpful.

Then, I go for sugar. Lots of it. And soda. And junk food. If you think of it, an extreme need for a quick rise of happiness and inspiration is one of very few valid excuses for stuffing one's body with bad stuff that provokes short-term rise of endorphines. But remember - it's really short-term! It's crucial to catch the wave of energy; otherwise, once it's gone, it's gone.

Third thing isn't as obvious or as easy: start being creative. About ANYTHING. Like if you're going to kitchen through living room, try to think of a metaphor for the color of the couch. Could it be "coughing salmon pink"? Would you describe the weather ouside as "smashed worm grey"? Or is it "Celtic golden"? While adding ice to your soda, think of rhymes. Like, easy ones: "Gimme some ice, it's gonna be nice!". Or something totally lame like "Red watermelon is better than lemon". Anything will do, anything at all. Take a bite of cinnamon roll and try to think of how to bake caramel coated deep-fried roaches into sweet buns so that the end product tastes good.

Remember the last "Alice in Wonderland" movie by Tim Burton? Alice had a habit of thinking of five impossible things every morning before breakfast. Try this exercise, it's good for creativity in general, and for crisis of inspiration.

Here you go, catch the wave. Go back to your desk and produce SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Lame or good. At best, you'll produce something good. At worst, you'll produce something horrible, but it'll give you idea of what to fix and where to move.

Call it "Informational Ambulance for Emotional Creators"