It can be intimidating to start writing about your art practice. Some artists fear exposing too much of themselves, so they write nothing. Other artists expect to write their first draft perfectly, putting the writing process in paralysis. More than anything, artists are overwhelmed by the blank screen because it represents endless possibilities.
If any of these scenarios resonate with you, you can take comfort in the fact that we’ve helped many other artists overcome blank page syndrome. Our solution is to start the writing process with low-stakes brainstorming exercises, then mine the contents of those exercises for raw materials, and then refine that material into a meaningful piece of text. Need help? Here are a few tips from our class, Essential Writing for Artists.
- 👉 Schedule an appointment with yourself to brainstorm a new piece of text, and put it on your calendar. Find a place to write where you won’t be disturbed. If you can, turn off your phone.
- 👉 Write about your work freely without correcting yourself. Editing as you brainstorm is often an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with the discovery process.
- 👉 Do not try to write about your work for a general audience. That’s an impossible undertaking. So pick one person (a real person or a fictional character) and write for them.
- 👉 Don’t stop brainstorming until your scheduled appointment has ended. If you get stuck during a brainstorming session, write freely about that. The best way to defeat writer’s block is to write about anything.
- 👉 Get help. Sign up for our new at-your-own-pace virtual writing class on brainstorming.
Brainstorming is a module of Essential Writing for Artists, our self-paced writing intensive course, now available as a stand-alone class. In this class, you will learn brainstorming techniques to use as a part of your writing process and your art practice.
