How I Got Through a Creative Slump and Got My Creative Juices Flowing
Learning to fall in love with writing again after months of depression
In May this year, I experienced the worst burnout of my life. It was so bad that I genuinely thought about quitting writing altogether.
Being the primary caretaker of my sick mum burdened me physically and emotionally, sucking the life out of me. I was too drained to write as consistently as I wanted, further plunging me into depression.
For three months, my well of creativity was sucked dry. Every piece of writing I did felt like walking on hot coals. I was this close to quitting. So close.
Fortunately, I got back on track this August, and I’m still going strong.
This is how I reignited my love for writing and finally overcame that creative slump.
A creative slump is inevitable
How does it feel to have a million ideas popping up at lightning speed in your head, yet you have no energy to write a single thing?
You already know how your article is going to turn out because you know what to write. Despite that, your entire body wages a war on you so that you can’t even bring yourself to do anything about it. You’re physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.
In extreme cases, the thought of writing makes your skin crawl, and you wished the world would burn to ashes so everyone could leave you the fuck alone.
That’s what a creative slump feels like. Just because you’re very passionate about your art doesn’t make you immune to it. It’s inevitable.
As an artist, there comes a time when you question the purpose of your art. Is it even worth it? Are you wasting your time? Self-doubt becomes the order of the day.
No matter how experienced you are, these days will come.
I will write until I’m dead. True. But considering that’s a lifetime, it means that there will be days when I just won’t feel like writing. And that’s okay.
Sometimes you need a break so you can come back stronger. I wish I knew that before. I was afraid that taking a break would dull my creativity, thereby succumbing to my lethargic urges. But I was so wrong.
Once my creative slump passed, all I wanted to do was write. And that’s exactly what I did. I’ve written so much more in the past week than in the last three months combined. And I see no signs of running out of ideas.
I used to think writers had no excuse to not write. No matter how you feel, write and you’ll feel better. Well, that works sometimes. But it doesn’t always work like that. Things aren’t always that simple. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything, and you just aren’t in the mood to write, then maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to listen to your body.
Creative slump is part of the writing process. Don’t fight it. Let yourself go through it. Eventually, it will pass.
Read as much as you can
In my experience, a creative slump goes hand in hand with depression. Every day came with its struggle.
Some days, I couldn’t do anything. Didn’t feel anything. I was stuck in bed all day, merely existing and wishing I didn’t exist. Other times, I got bored and craved to do something other than feeling sorry for myself.
But as much as I wanted to keep myself busy, my brain was always against writing. It was never an option. Even if I forced myself to my computer, I would just stare at a blank page forever. Or at best, rewrite that one sentence over and over until I realized how stupid the whole thing was before going back to bed.
So instead of writing, I read.
I had so many ebooks I hadn’t read yet, so I took the time to read almost all of them. It was the best thing I ever did for myself in those dark times. It kept me sane, and more importantly, it banished the thoughts of quitting.
The more I read, the more ideas I gathered for my future articles and stories. I think that was the main reason why I didn’t give up on writing. Reading is that powerful.
If you’re feeling too empty to write, try reading instead.
Read what makes you happy. The point is to lift your spirits so you can finally write again. Find what interests you and devour them all. Reading a lot of fiction pumped me up to work on my neglected stories.
Take advantage of the tiniest bit of energy you regain
Though I was too sapped to write anything most of the time, there were those rare moments when I felt a deluge of creativity after reading. When that happened, I channeled that energy into something productive as quickly as I could before it ran out.
This was pretty much the only way I was able to write or edit anything at all in the last three months. In fact, that was how I wrote this article. They’re usually not of the best quality, but the fact that I wrote something was all that mattered to me.
As I said, give yourself a break. You don’t have to write if you’re too burned out to do it. However, in those rare times when your creative energy sparks within you, drag your ass out of bed and write. Or… stay right in bed and write. Whatever works for you.
Just use that energy before you lose it. You never know when it might come back.
Stay away from social media
I used to be very active on Facebook in my teens and early twenties until I stopped using it in 2018. Sick of all the emails from Facebook, I finally deleted my account in January 2023.
I’m not much of a Twitter user either. I created my account in 2020 and only figured out how to use it in 2022. But once I found out how addictive and time-consuming it was, I avoided it like the plague.
Things, however, took a dark turn when I fell into a creative slump. My boredom got worse, and before long, I lived on Twitter. Except I wasn’t paying that $8 rent.
Let me tell you this — Twitter was my worst nightmare.
To put it simply, going to Twitter when you’re depressed is like going to Snoop Dogg’s party when you’re a pothead. That probably sounds like a match made in heaven.
But seriously, social media is to depression what fuel is to fire. Cliche, but true as fuck.
On Twitter, I would scroll and scroll and scroll, wasting hours upon hours upon hours. Not only was it taxing to my body, but mentally draining too. While reading books was the best thing I did for myself, going to Twitter was the worst. I do not Xaggerate when I say that Xposure to the Xcruciating shitstorm that was X (or whatever the fuck they’re calling it these days), Xecuted my brain cells every day.
The only good thing was that Twitter was a goldmine for ideas. There were several interesting discourses ongoing, and I really wanted to write about them. Unfortunately, I was not in the mental space to write anything.
Seeing how destructive it was to my mental health, I deleted the app on my phone. I’ve become more productive since.
The next time I ever fall into a creative slump, I’m never going on social media. Not even for five minutes. Shit turns to five hours. I’m not falling into that rabbit hole again. I can’t believe I even did it in the first place.
Talk to people you trust
Solitude is my closest companion.
I love being by myself, being stuck in my head, and daydreaming. I am most in my creative element in this state. But I become even more quiet and reserved when I’m depressed.
Unfortunately, my family can’t tell the difference because I keep to myself all the time. Hell, I was depressed for three months straight, and my mum didn’t even know. We live under the same roof.
At the height of my depression, everything came crashing down. I could no longer hold it in. My endless feeling of indifference toward life was slowly morphing into pure rage. Everything got on my nerves. Everything.
And then one day I lashed out at my mum because of something she did. It was actually the only time I voiced out how taking care of her was affecting my overall well-being, especially my mental health.
How did it go?
Here’s the thing. A typical African believes in the power of evil spirits and witchcraft. But mental health is where they draw the line; there’s no such thing as depression. Walk it off.
Well, that’s not what my mum said exactly. But she did say, rather condescendingly might I add, that I was depressed because I wasn’t eating fruits. Yeah. Exactly in those words. At least she acknowledged that depression exists.
Anyway, I wasn’t even mad at her. It was my fault for expecting her to understand. I never tell her anything going on with me because I know she’ll somehow end up blaming me for it.
I had only myself to rely on if I was struggling with my mental health.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to keep things to myself this time. I found three people I could talk to — my brother, an old friend from school, and a fellow writer friend.
Talking to them was one of the best things I did for myself in those dark times. For once, I felt heard. Understood.
After ranting to my brother and friends, I finally felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. They helped me to see things from my mother’s perspective, after all, she was the one in physical pain all the time.
Was it easy? No. But it helped me become more empathetic toward my mum, which ironically allowed me to be kinder to myself.
My writer friend, Okwy, was also a great help in regaining my creativity. She’s smart, easy to talk to, and a good listener. But more importantly, she threatened to write about how Nigerian Jollof was better than Ghanaian Jollof, and that shit snapped me out of my creative slump at once. There was no way in hell I was going to let her broadcast such blasphemy to the world. I had to get back as quickly as possible to stop that shit from happening.
But seriously, Okwy is an amazing writer. Go read her stuff and see for yourself.
My point is that find someone you can talk to when everything feels too overwhelming. Whoever it is must be someone who will listen to you and not judge you. Someone who can empathize with your situation. It’s also a good idea to make friends with fellow writers or artists. They understand what you’re going through even if your experiences are different.
Final thoughts
A creative slump is part of the creative process. No matter what you do, you will experience it. Don’t be too hard on yourself when it happens. You’re human. No matter how resilient or strong-willed you are, there will be times when you just don’t want to create.
It’s okay to feel this way. However, avoid doing the things that will only make it worse. In my case, it was social media. For others, it could be drugs or alcohol. Or even ketchup. I don’t know. I hate ketchup.
Invest your time in activities that are meaningful to you. Go on a walk. Work out. Talk to people you trust. Read your favorite books. Pick up a new skill. Watch anime. Sleep. Try a hobby.
Do something.
And when that tiny spark of creativity lights up within you, seize it and create magic.
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