Ten Things You Can Do to Overcome Writer's Block (For Writing, Music and All Fields)

QUESTION:

What are some of the best tips you can share with aspiring writers?

ANSWER:

Here are a few things you can do if you are an aspiring writer. This works for writers, musicians, artists, or anyone in any field.

Too often, we hear of writers and creative artists, and their challenges with writer's block, or musicians who are having difficulty with creating their next song. There are many ways to overcome these challenges. Most of the time, it is because there is too much happening inside of our minds. Too much thinking and too much processing leaves very little room for a free-flow of ideas and creativity.

Here are a few things you can do if you are an aspiring writer. This works for writers, musicians, artists, or anyone in any field.

1. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people. Get away from friends, family, acquaintances or anyone who is negative or puts your dream down. This includes people on social media. Quietly un-friend them. After so long in this environment, you become their words. The same with positive people. After so long, you become their words. Meaning, what we hear, over and over, we become. Better to become something positive, than something useless and degrading. Surround yourself with encouraging people. Those with a high drive will rub off on you and make you want to succeed. If you can achieve this first step in merely wanting to succeed, all else will fall into place.

2. Write your goals down, every single day. Do not just log them in on your phone or other device. Physically write them down. Writing your goals down makes you think of them, intensely. After you write them, your subconscious takes over and dreams about it even more. Dream big. Write down exactly what you want, and think about these things, over and over. What you have written down, read it aloud. The more you pay attention to your goals, the more they pay attention to you, and the more they become a part of your world.

3. Study the greats. When I wanted to learn how to write, I read books by Alexandre Dumas and John Steinbeck. I also read hundreds of books by Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors, since this was what I wanted to write. I read as much as possible, and I read mostly from award-winning and best-selling authors. They won for a reason. While you read, ask yourself why you like or don't like parts of their stories. What would you have done differently? What would you have said differently? How would you have punctuated differently?

Pay attention to their vocabulary, each character's way of enunciating, and the way the author punctuates. It is the same with music. The best way to learn to play music, is to listen to the legends who play music.

4. Go into solitary modes. Periodically, for 15 minutes to an hour or more at a time, do nothing but relax and get away. Watch the sun rise. Watch the sun set. Take a walk in a park or the woods. Breathe deeply, and do nothing else, just breathing. Sit in front of a fire and stare at it. Take a drive. Don't turn on the music. Crack the window and listen to the air while you drive. Take a hot shower, specifically to relax and clear out. Close your eyes while you do it, and just breathe.

While doing any of these, do not talk. Just pay attention and be aware of what is happening inside of you. Ideas and creativity can happen, if we allow it to.

5. Exercise. Many times, when we are blocked, all we need to do is release the stress. Push ups work very fast. They open up all the meridians of the body, allowing energy to pass through and clear you out. Jumping jacks are good. Walking. Stretching. Body Tapping. Lifting weights. Any of these, and pretty much all exercise works. While exercising, pay super attention to your body, and what is happening inside of you.

Do not watch TV, like some of those people on the treadmills at the gym, staring at the TV. It's the worst. Their gaze is set outside of their body, and their attention is focused on a screen, instead of their body. If you try to do both, you do neither well. You are neither watching TV fully, nor are you exercising to the fullest. You are doing both kind of half and half. Just exercise, and pay attention to yourself by setting your gaze and focus on the inside. Feel your heartbeat. Listen to your breath. Feel the pain. Feel the stretch. In these intense moments, you are able to release blocks and stress.

6. Limit the amount of time you spend on games and TV. People who play games on their phones or computers, or those who watch shows regularly, wake up every single day, knowing and expecting to do those things. While these are fun, and sometimes inspiring, these activities take up many hours in our day. These are hours that can be used to manifest your own creations.

In order to add more hours of creativity into your day, you have to choose to do so. Choose to stop playing games, and choose to stop the hours of TV shows in your day. Choose to sit down and create, to write, to do the things that matter to you. Once you choose to do something, you wake up fresh every day, knowing and expecting to create and write.

7. People watch. When you are out, do not waste your time and energy by talking, talking, talking. Unless is it is sincere and meaningful conversation, talking is mostly all blah, blah, blah. Most of the time, we are only voicing out the chaos inside of our minds. It does nobody any good, including you. Instead of doing that, just be aware of your surroundings. Watch the people around you. What are they doing? What can you learn from them? You might just see a story, right in front of your eyes, given to you by the people at the next table at a restaurant. Or by some random person walking down the street. But if you are talking and not paying attention, you will miss all of it.

8. Carry a bag with a notebook and pen. Wherever you go, take this with you. You never know when you may get an idea. If you do, you're prepared and can write it down. There were times in the past when I was not prepared, and lyrics came to me. It was all I could do but constantly repeat them in my head, until I could find something to write on.

9. Read stories and articles about successful people, not just writers, but people from all fields. This includes, music, acting, business, and those who are overcoming traumatic experiences. To read and acknowledge such stories gives hope. It shows that you too can do the things in the world of success, because another person was able to do it. Do this periodically to remind yourself of good things.

10. Practice, if you're a musician. Write, if you're a writer. Don't make any excuses about time or money or a space to do it. Just go out and do it. In my formative years, I was practicing scales, arpeggios, riffs and tunes for music, 5-10 hours a day. when I was not practicing, I was thinking about music. The same with writing. Write your story. Think about it when you are not writing.

Much of what I wrote above is based on how full our minds are. If your mind is too full, you are blocked. If it is empty, ideas and inspiration can come to you. Exercising, meditating, relaxing, paying attention. These all help to clear yourself out, so that you can be in the Zone. When you are in the Zone, thoughts cease, and the fantastical world of the unseen takes over. This is where your stories will come from.

Reading about success will help you to put in perspective what you can do, once you have your story.

Vaughn Edward is a performing vocalist and instrumentalist, author and photographer. He has trekked over twenty cross-country trips in the States, performed throughout the U.S. and toured the Caribbean. He has authored two books, WARRIOR CHILDREN Fantasy series, and he has sold his photography canvases in various states. (www.vaughnedward.com)

To SUBMIT questions to him, send to:  vaughnedwardmusic@gmail.com
WARRIOR CHILDREN novels blog:  https://vaughnedward.blogspot.com
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The Future of Music

QUESTION:

Have you ever thought on the future of music? What path do you think it will take?

ANSWER:

I have. I studied music from early periods and watched how it changed, from chant and tribal, to folk, classical, blues, swing, bebop jazz, free jazz, funk, disco, rock and pop. Realizing, of course, there are so many other styles that it formed into, but too long of a list to place here.

Early on, decades ago, the legendary trumpeter, Miles Davis, veered from straight-ahead and cool jazz, to electric jazz. Following that, the iconic saxophonist, Michael Brecker, added electronics into his music, using the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument). Even symphonies have added some electric sounds to their orchestras.

Music in general, is constantly going to electric and electronics.

I have a friend who performed opera all over the world. She has a wonderful voice, and she is a good pianist. She teaches her daughter voice and piano, but she said that she would rather have me teach her daughter, because I can also teach her how to chord, improvise, write songs, and push her into the electronics field. The reason? Because music is ever-changing, and opera and classical music are not as popular as most other music anymore. It would be very hard for her daughter, according to her, to sustain herself as a musician in today's world.

Nowadays, one has to know how to write popular songs, create music through software, or play multiple instruments, just to survive and gig enough to make money. For, only the elite opera and symphony members are able to make the bread with the top companies in the world. As well, there are less and less jazz clubs now, than there were in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Like classical, outlets for jazz do exist, but they are far and few between.

For part of my background, I worked business administration for a top opera company in the Midwest, as well as a company that presented Classical music in San Francisco. All companies in that field are struggling to find a young audience between 20-35. In speaking with others in the business aspect of opera and classical, I found that the younger generation is not as giving. Meaning, the donations for non-profit music aren't as high as they used to be. It shows that most of today’s generation are looking in a different direction for music.

Another person close to me, who grew up singing classically and tutoring voice at a college in California, has said from time to time, "I stopped singing classical and switched to Pop, because there's no money in it. There's Heart, but the money is rare."

Music, for the longest time, has been on a paved path of electronics. Those who can adapt, chord and improvise and add electronics to what they already do, have a good chance. I am not saying that those who purely play traditional cannot make it. Everyone can make it. However, studies and experience has shown, that the world of electronics and technology is ever-expanding, not just in music, but in all avenues of our lives. Even in Japan, concerts sung solely by vocaloid voices, while holograms dance onstage, are very popular. A lot of Film Score, Anime, Cartoons and TV shows also use electronic music. It's just the world we live in.

Let me add, there is still great music coming out of opera houses and symphonies, and there are amazing bluegrass, blues, jazz, reggae and Latin bands out there. This is very satisfying for many people. However, as a whole, in general, music all throughout the world is pushing through the sounds of electronica. From traditional jazz musicians becoming fusion artists, to Pop and Rap artists adding electronic sounds to their songs, and symphonies adding electric guitars, music has always been headed down a path of electronics.

The goal for most musicians (at this time), is to be able to meld with electronics in some way, while still keeping their value as a performer in the physical and artistic sense.

Vaughn Edward is a performing vocalist and instrumentalist, author and photographer. He has trekked over twenty cross-country trips in the States, performed throughout the U.S. and toured the Caribbean. He has authored two books, WARRIOR CHILDREN Fantasy series, and he has sold his photography canvases in various states. (www.vaughnedward.com)

To SUBMIT questions to him, send to:  vaughnedwardmusic@gmail.com
WARRIOR CHILDREN novels blog:  https://vaughnedward.blogspot.com
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Ethics in the Music Industry

QUESTION:

How do you mainly work within ethics in today's musical industry? Has it been problematic for you so far?

ANSWER:

It depends on what you are pinpointing as "ethics". It all boils down to this. If you have received something, give something back. If you have been helped, help somebody else. If you are striving for something in your life, reach for the top, and do so without trampling on others or setting them back. Do what needs to be done in order to conquer your goals, but do so without compromising yourself. We can all bend, but not to the point that it breaks us.

For downloading and streaming music, or performing, I believe in paying a fair share to artists. Musicians go through some of the roughest times, living on pennies and nickels, and most people have no idea what that road is like. Many artists have spent thousands of hours practicing their music, buying equipment and traveling thousands of miles, making people happy in the moments that they perform, only to make a few dollars to survive. It can be a ruthless road at times for musicians, but we do it because our Heart has no choice in the matter. The Heart says, "Music is love, and love is music, and no matter what the battle, music shall exist and prevail."

With that said, give to the musician/artist when possible. If you are a musician/artist, give to others in your field. Support them, and encourage them. We're all in this together, musician or not. Music makes the world go round in such a way, that it annihilates the heavy and bombastic energies in the air when things are bad in the world.

Without music, everybody's lives, the events they throw, the parties they have, the celebrations they gather at, and the personal "me" times each and everyone of us have, would all be much tougher to deal with.

Pay the musician or artist for their work. They certainly do deserve it.

If it is about copyright and use of lyrics and melodies, the musician has to be as honest as possible. I literally have a thousand melodies in my head, all the time. There is so much music improvisation going on in my head, and constant singing and whistling of my melodies. They are my melodies.

However, every single musician has always borrowed from previous musicians. Music is learned by listening to other musicians. We absorb from everything in order to make an original of ourselves. Once, I was working on a melody for an original song, and I was playing it on the keyboard. A friend of mine walked in and listened for a bit and said, "That sounds familiar." I shook my head and said, "How? It's my own melody. I've been whistling this since I woke up."

He pulled out his laptop and finally found a song that had a similar melody. I rolled my eyes and said, "How did that happen? I've never even heard that song before, or at least been conscious of it, if it had played in the background somewhere." Ultimately, I scratched the melody I was working on and began working on something new. It's hard at times with things like this. I hear thousands of melodies and riffs, and my brain stores them all, and it organizes them into new things.

I have a Pop song with electronics, "Ghost In The Night". The chord changes on the Verses stemmed off of the jazz tune, "Autumn Leaves". However, I simplified the chords so much and twisted them around, that is completely different now. I did add tribute to Autumn Leaves by stating in my 2nd Verse, "The leaves were falling..."

If, as a musician, you take from another musician, and you make it your own, give some kind of credit to that other person. That other person inspired you enough to write something of your own. The ethical thing is to give back to them in some way.

For lyrics and songs that are radio-ready and compliant, the musician has to weigh out what he or she is willing to give up as an artist. I've written a couple of rap songs, and I am writing a third now. The first two songs, I made radio-ready, no curse words. They didn't need it anyway. The riffs and melodies and rhymes on my song, "The Wild Ones", carries itself enough without cursing. However, this new song I am working on is very personal to me. In one part, it almost asks itself to have one curse word, just for the effect.

I am still weighing it out, because if I put it in, the song cannot be played on air. If I do add the word in, I feel it is more powerful. What to do? It is decisions like this that have to be made, because of the ethics in society. I am leaning on leaving it out and possibly finding a suitable substitute that is nearly as powerful. Or, I may just record two versions, one for radio, and one for album.

As for "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll", I believe that the public, not the musicians, coined this. Surely, this type of behavior does happen a lot in the music industry. However, we have to realize that people are rebelling in every way to the norms of society. They want to escape the parameters that have been placed upon them.

Music gives the musician and the listener that feeling of escape. With that, however, comes the chaos of being unleashed into a world where no boundaries exist. That is what music does for us. When we find ourselves so free, many can't handle so much freedom in the moment. That is where the drugs comes in. I once played a Reggae & Ska fest in North Carolina along the beach. That night, the lead singer was drunk, the 2nd guitar was coked up, and the drummer was high. I was completely sober, playing sax. It was a fun night, but the music surely wasn't as stable as it could have been.

What to do? It's something we just have to shrug off our shoulders and go about our day happily. And in the future, if that is something we do not want on our gigs, we have to find musicians to work with who will remain sober, for the sake of the music.

Pay to play, at bars and nightclubs. This type of performance is more prevalent in the millenium. It keeps the clubs at a safe level, so that they do not bankrupt themselves, but it stretches the pockets of those musicians whose pockets are already hanging low.

Nowadays, kids and teens, and even some seasoned musicians are thirsting to play so badly, that they enter into the stream of pay-to-play. What this means, is that they front the payment of how many people should be attending, in ticket sales. If they go over their allotted ticket sales, then they may make some money back.

However, if the musicians or bands are always entering into this type of scenario, it is much harder for them to get ahead. In the old days, a band was just hired to play. They were paid by the club owners to do a job. They made people happy. People bought drinks. The band was paid. The band came back the next week, or the next month, to do another job.

The industry has changed so much, that the younger generation, as well as most everyone else, has to first pay up, before they can do their job. Ethically speaking, it seems a bit backward. If you have to do this type of performance, do it a few times, but not as a regular habit. Find other outlets to perform. Put your music out there in the world, on the internet. If you search for another route, one will surely pop up. Do not be satisfied with the one you are walking on, if it is not up to your standard. 

Vaughn Edward is a performing vocalist and instrumentalist, author and photographer. He has trekked over twenty cross-country trips in the States, performed throughout the U.S. and toured the Caribbean. He has authored two books, WARRIOR CHILDREN Fantasy series, and he has sold his photography canvases in various states. (www.vaughnedward.com)

To SUBMIT questions to him, send to:  vaughnedwardmusic@gmail.com

WARRIOR CHILDREN novels blog:  https://vaughnedward.blogspot.com

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