Earlier today, I was in a funk. A creative funk.

I was feeling frustrated. I knew I wanted to create but I couldn’t decide what. A bit like when you want to go for a walk but suddenly all the parks look a bit bleak¹.

I just wasn’t excited by anything. Of all the topics I could list in my mind, none looked worthy of being a post on my blog. Nothing felt like a sure win.

It was just one of those days.

So I put a 30 minutes timer on. I opened my sketchbook, I grabbed my crayons and my fountain pen, and I started drawing.

Drawing what? No idea. I just started making marks. I followed my intuition. I followed what my body wanted to do. Here’s what it felt like:

My arm wants to do a particular motion. I let it do what it wants because I think it feels good physically. I press as hard as I can on the crayon. YES that’s the stuff! Then as soon as I lift the pen from paper, I know what to do next. Another stroke, that way, and it has to be blue. Don’t let yourself think. Just do it. If you start thinking, you won’t do it, and you’ll be back to square one. Just keep letting your body guide you. Just keep sketching.

This reminds me of a quote from The Artist’s Way:

“I learned to get out of the way and let that creative force work through me. I learned to just show up at the page and write down what I heard. Writing became more like eavesdropping and less like inventing a nuclear bomb. (…) I didn’t have to be in the mood. I didn’t have to take my emotional temperature to see if inspiration was pending. I simply wrote. No negotiations.”

- Julia Cameron

An hour later, fourteen pages in my sketchbook are filled with colours, strokes, fountain pen ink, lines and shapes. I feel different.

Now I feel ready to write. Actually, I can’t wait to get started. There’s a different sensation in my chest. It’s warm, deep and it is expanding. A bit like a nice and long hug from that friend who’s a really good hugger.

I think that what unblocked me is taking inspiration from how artist Samuel Mead works. I took action after action after action. I made decision after decision after decision. I didn’t give myself any time to think, beyond asking “do I like this or not?”. Do I like this colour, this sound, this physical sensation? Do I like that mark I just made? Either way, I just kept moving on. To the next mark. Then to the next page.

After an hour of this, my brain and my body are used to this process. I can begin writing much more easily than before, because I am not thinking too much. Instead I am leaning into my intuition.

I don’t know what to call this, but I don’t care. As Julia Cameron (her again) wrote, One does not need to understand electricity to use it.

After writing in my notebook for half an hour or so, I can’t seem to stop. I’m in the zone. It’s like I primed myself with a coat of white paint, and now I am ready to use colours on the wall.

Now, instead of being anxious that it might not be good, I am curious about what I am going to write. What am I going to come up with next? What cool rocks am I going to find in the river? I don’t know! Let’s find out!

Before, I was focusing on what would make a good story. Now, I am focusing on what I like and what feels good.

This is how I get out of a funk. I sit down, open my sketchbook, and I get physical.

And it works. Now I feel more open. In fact, I want to keep going. The timer is almost out of time but I don’t want it to stop. I’m having fun!