Creative Blocks + Burnouts
Breaking Down + Breaking Through
As soon as I finally got to sleep last night—technically this morning—the alarm at the grocery store across the street sounded. Blaring and incessantly. Until it stopped just as suddenly as it started.
I tried to go back to sleep, but eventually gave up and got up. If I wasn’t going to get rest, I might as well write. I started in my journal, then drafted this newsletter.
What’s on my mind? Creative blocks and burnouts.
To me, they’re like the spooky twins haunting Jack Nicholson in The Shining—always lurking, always unnerving. So I’m hoping that shining a little light on them might make go away and at least seem less scary...especially in the middle of a sleepless night.
It’s my own fault, really. For most of the past year, I’ve been burning the candle at both ends so much that I’m shocked I didn’t get blocked or burned out sooner.
Several folk noticed I was running on empty long before I did. And I’ve been in denial for weeks, running on the constant pressure to keep going, to keep growing, and to keep showing up. But sometimes, all that “keeping” keeps me from just… being.
In my experience, that’s when the creative blocks become creative crashes. So I’m treading lightly and giving myself permission to doodle and noodle as necessary.
What I’m learning (again) is that creative breakdowns don’t always mean something’s gone wrong. Sometimes they’re a sign I’ve gone too long without a break. They’re not the enemy; they’re the message.
So this morning, sleep-deprived and slightly delirious, I decided to stop resisting. To write from the block, not push through it.
If you’re in the middle of your own breakdown—or your creativity feels like it’s run out of gas—maybe the next step isn’t to push harder, but to listen closer.
Taking more breaks can lead to more breakthroughs…tell a friend.
Happy Friday…and Happy Good Friday too!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. After I finish a couple of daily newsletters, I’ll be taking the weekend off to read and recharge. A new montage will premiere on Monday. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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Thank you. Yes, YOU, boo!
FOR YOUR (SUBSTACK) CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = APRIL 18
BIRTHDAYS
1857 = Clarence Darrow = American lawyer
1889 = Alice Blinn = American educator and efficiency expert 🌈
1918 = Clifton Hillegass = American publisher and CliffsNotes founder
1921 = Jean Richard = French actor and singer
1946 = Hayley Mills = English actor
1950 = Kenny Ortega = American director, producer, and choreographer 🌈
1953 = Rick Moranis = Canadian-American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
1956 = Eric Roberts = American actor
1961 = Jane Leeves = English actor and dancer
1963 = Conan O'Brien = American tv host, comedian, and podcaster
1967 = Maria Bello = American actor 🌈
1971 = David Tennant = Scottish actor
1972 = Eli Roth = American actor and filmmaker
1976 = Melissa Joan Hart = American actor
1984 = America Ferrera = American actor
EVENTS
1775 = Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott engage in a midnight ride to alert of the approach of British troops before the battles of Lexington and Concord.
1881 = The painted ceilings of the Natural History Museum, London, were unveiled when the building opened its doors to the public.
1938 = Superman debuts in Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938).
1986 = Legend is released in theaters.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
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Ahhh thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing my work!
I'm so grateful for you, Clint, and I'm so thankful for the light and love you bring into the world.
Thank you for everything you create. You are a beacon.
Re-emergence can be paindul, a struggle, inconvenient and disriptive but it is, if only in my opinion, the only way forward, the only worthwhile path.
I deliberately live in the country. Yes, there are noises but mainly birds (cocks - oops I should say roosters for sensitive US citizens), monkeys, - and they can be loud. Eventually, I learnt to ignore them though to be honest, as a morning person I don't mind waking early. I don't have to get up but van read in bed. Living in the tropics, it's light at 6 am and dark at 6 pm. The birds go to sleep and the monkeys, too, when it gets dark. I sleep quite early.