Plus a free Writing Prompt to get you going!
“I just feel stuck in my writing”
This is one of the most common issues I hear about. And I am no different. Over my 20+ years in stand-up I’ve often found myself feeling like I haven’t come up with anything new that’s really good in awhile. I am stuck. So how do I get un-stuck?
The first step in understanding the solution is understanding what’s causing the problem. Generally it comes from mining the same territory over and over. Most of us tend to live in a bubble. A bubble of our design but a bubble nonetheless. Our routine. Our daily grind. I get up, I drink coffee. I try to convince myself to exercise. I cut a video for the socials. I eat. Smoke pot. Watch sports news. More coffee. Writing or editing. And that’s about it until it’s time to go do a show.
So the problem isn’t that I’m stuck. The problem is nothing new has HAPPENED to stimulate the writing process. In order to write, we need something to write about. Thusly, the solution presents itself, what I need is new STIMULUS. So here are three ways for you to stimulate the writing process and get your creative juices flowing once again.
- LEAVE TOWN
Probably the best way to get you out of your bubble is to literally get out of your bubble. It doesn’t have to be lavish or expensive, you can go visit friends in another city that’s just a few hours drive away. You can go camping. You just have to go away. This will automatically produce new experiences and interactions, both good and bad, that can create great comedy. And it can also allow you to reflect on your bubble from a distance perhaps opening new pathways of analysis.
- DO SOMETHING NEW
Or that you haven’t done in a long time. When I lived in NYC I got stuck for what seemed like forever. I decided to buy a ticket to see the NY Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. It was majestic. I cried. I literally cried. It quenched a thirst for art on a different level I didn’t even realize I had, as I was SO FOCUSED on stand-up. I immediately felt renewed and ready to create again. Just do something completely different that you’ve always wanted to do or haven’t done in a long time.
- WRITING PROMPTS
I give these out every week during my 5-week workshops. Sometimes it leads to great material, sometimes it leads to something else entirely but started with thinking about the prompt. The good thing about prompts is that it can help you find material that’s already in you, you just haven’t brought it out yet. So here’s one that will hopefully kickstart some fun thought processes:
What is something you tried or bought or did that you did not expect to like but actually did? Or thought you would like but then didn’t. Why? Has anything happened or changed because of this?
There you go.
Keep crushing,
Greg