Speaker 1: Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. Have You Seen Me? seamlessly picks up where Gossip Girl leaves off, but with more sex, more lies, and more dead bodies a la How To Get Away With Murder and You. When a coveted member of a group of entitled yet ambitious 20-somethings goes missing, their deadly secret is threatened to be exposed. But the real question is, who will be next? Read Have You Seen Me by creator Candy Washington on Amazon Kindle Vela or listen and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Speaker 2: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Sugar Pills, a practical guide to self-care if you're listening on the podcast. And welcome back to The Lux Life if you are joining us on YouTube and on Instagram. But don't forget that over on our YouTube channel, that is where you're able to comment and interact with us. So wherever you're listening, thank you. And also be sure to like, rate, review, subscribe, and follow, and share this with a friend because self-love, self-worth, and manifesting your dreams is always better with some community and support and some friends. And speaking of that, if you want a little bit more support, if you want a little bit more guidance, you can always join our Lux Life VIP group. It is linked below in the show notes, along with other resources that you can get. Some are free and some are our other types of resources, but definitely check them out in the show notes and in the description box. So without further ado, today we are going to be talking about how to overcome writer's block. But it's really any type of creative block that you have, whether you are a writer or an actor or a painter or a dancer or anything you're actually really trying to do in your life. It doesn't even have to be in that creative realm. It could just be anything that you're trying to take the next level to, but you've been procrastinating or you feel stunted or you feel blocked or you feel that you're not creative in it. I'm going to talk you through some of the things to sort of overcome that blockage, but you know, I'm going to call it writer's block because as you guys know, it has dropped my new project called Have You Seen Me? It's a fictional series and one of the biggest questions that I got, and before I get into the biggest question that I got, which is obviously today's topic, you can check out Have You Seen Me? below in the description box and in the show notes. You can listen along on the podcast when it debuts and you can read along now on the series. But the biggest question I got when I launched it, which wasn't even about the series, but it was about how do you stay creative? How do you come up with the ideas? How are you constantly writing because, you know, Have You Seen Me? It's not a novel, it's not a book yet. It is different episodes that I write and produce and create every week. So right now we have six published episodes, but there are more to come. It's a serialized series. So the biggest question I got was how do you stay inspired? How do you have the ideas come? Like how do you overcome that block, right? So I'm going to tell you my 10 ways to overcome that block. And when I do, you guys will definitely know how to do it as well. That is right. That is right. So at the end of this video, at the end of this episode, you will also know how to overcome it and get through it.

Speaker 1: Welcome to Sugar Pills, a practical guide to self-care, where your host, writer, actor and producer Kandi Washington helps you live a more joyful life with a cheeky dash of pop culture news. Be sure to subscribe, leave a five star review and join the conversation on Instagram at Kandi Washington. Let's go.

Speaker 2: All right, guys, we are back and now I'm ready to get into 10 easy ways to overcome writer's block. And again, if you guys are joining us on YouTube or on Facebook or Instagram, be sure to comment below. Let me know what your thoughts are. Let me know what you're tuning in for and from. If you're listening on the podcast, be sure to also join us on those platforms so that you can join the real life, real time conversations and also ask questions. So the first way that I overcome writer's block or any time that I feel that I am blocked creatively and I haven't really seen anybody else really talk about this, you know, I did some research on this. I want to take my personal experience, but also I wanted to do some research to see what else is out there. And I didn't see any other article or any person talking about this. But the first thing that I do, which is actually a integral part of my creative process. I'll do another video and another episode on my exact creative process. But the first thing that I do and one of the most integral things that I do is that I ask for divine guidance. You know, before I sit down to write or before I sit down to create or before I sit down to pretty much do anything, I get tuned in and tapped into my own intuition, my own guiding system, my own divinity. And I just asked, you know, tell the story through me, you know, bring me the story, you know, reveal the characters, like, what would you have me say? Who would you have me say it to? What would you have me do? I asked for divine guidance. And that has really, really helped in being able to, wait one second, you guys. So that has really, really helped in being able to get past any type of blockage that I have, is asking for divine guidance, knowing that it's not me who's writing, it's not me who's creating, but it's something higher in me that is actually working through me. Shonda Rhimes had talked about it once when I, had talked about it once when she was talking about her writing process. You know, she says she goes into her room or whatever and she puts her headphones in, but she kind of like channels, she kind of just gets into that flow of, you know, write through me, work through me. And I think a lot of creative people do that. So I feel like if you're not feeling inspired, if you feel like you have a creative block, if you feel like you don't know what the next right word is or the next right chapter is, ask for divine guidance, you know, get quiet, meditate for a little bit and just ask for it to come to you. So instead of trying to force the story or instead of trying to force, you know, the creativity to flow, ask for it to come to you, ask to receive it. So that's the first way. The second way is to change your environment. So I know a lot of us will work from home a lot, maybe we have an at home office or maybe we have a favorite coffee shop that we go to. So if you are feeling blocked, if you're feeling uninspired, change your environment, you know, maybe go to a different coffee shop, maybe, you know, work in a different room in your house, you know, if you, if you absolutely have to work from home and you can't go out and change your environment that way, you know, maybe change the furniture in your room or your office and maybe add something, take something away, rearrange, get a plant, whatever, change up your environment, get the energy flowing in a different way. You know, maybe you don't go to the same neighborhood to write that you always go into, maybe go to a different neighborhood, maybe go to a different coffee shop, maybe you go to a different, you know, working space or whatever it is. Change your environment, you would be surprised how things can come to you and how things can flow when you change the energy, the energy around you, when you change just how you feel about yourself, you know, when you change your environment, that can really clear up some energy and that can really be inspiring and that can really get your creativity flowing. So if you feel, if you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling blocked, change up your environment, it can be as little as getting plants or getting flowers or doing scented candles or, you know, rearranging your furniture, whatever it is, but change up the flow, create an open space, you know, change your environment. Another way to overcome writer's block is to travel. I know we've been on different travel bans and different things like that, but if you're able to, in a safe way, travel. This was actually one of the biggest pieces of advice I got when I asked someone that I really respected and admired, what do they do when they're blocked creatively? And he said, I travel. He's like, I get out of my city, I get out of my house, whatever, you know, so if it's not safe to travel, if you can't travel, you could even do a staycation. You could just, you know, spend the weekend at a local Airbnb or at a local bread and breakfast or at a local hotel or whatever it is, you know, maybe house sit for someone who's going away, but try and travel, you know, and this is, it's changing your environment, but it's different. You know, the first changing your environment, it's just like work at a different coffee shop, change some stuff up in your house, but traveling is like actually getting out of your space for a period of time, whether it's a long weekend or maybe just even an overnight to, again, you want to clear out the space and you want to clear out the energy and you want to get into your flow. That's really what it's about. It's clearing out the energy, it's clearing out the space and it's getting into your flow and you want to change it up a bit. So travel if you can. The next is read, read, read, read, read, read. So one thing that I do when I'm feeling blocked is I read, whether I read a book, whether I read an article, whether I read a magazine, I like to read because it gets me out of my own head and it gets me inspired by somebody else's form of storytelling, it gets me inspired by somebody else's point of view, and it can really open your mind up to different perspectives and ideas and really get you thinking. And once you get your mind thinking, then that gets your creativity flowing, that gets your creative juices flowing and all of that great stuff, right? So really what you want to do is you really want to read. Reading is not dead, reading is still great and if you can get that book in your hand, you know, get that book in your hand and if you can sit there and read, you know, Kindles are great, our devices are great, but if you can take it back old school, get that book in your hand and read, that would be amazing and so great. So I definitely say that, definitely read, get out of your own mind and take your own self into a new imagination and into a new story and that can inspire you. The next is to take a break, you know, just really take a break, take a break and see what is this fatigue, what is this block trying to show me, is it showing me that I might need to change course in this story, is it telling me that I'm actually kind of burnt out and maybe I'm burnt out in other areas of my life so I actually need to take this time because every time you're blocked creatively or you have writer's block, it doesn't mean it's just about the story you're trying to tell or what you're trying to create, it could be a sign of something bigger going on. Are you neglecting your relationships? Are you neglecting your self-care? Are you neglecting yourself? Are you not sleeping? Are you not eating? Are you not taking care of yourself? Are you overextending? Do you have too many deadlines and you're trying to do everything at once, right? So think about what is this block trying to show me, what is it telling me that I need to stop, that I need to slow down and I need to think about and absorb, right? So really get into that place of what is this writer's block trying to show me? What is this blockage trying to show me? Because if you think about it, say you're driving down the street and there's a road block, what is that road block telling you? That there's danger ahead, do not go forward. So if you're blocked in any area of your life, it means that there is danger ahead. And so that block is trying to get your attention so you can then reroute your course to go around whatever that danger is because if you're overextending, if you're exhausted, if you're not taking care of yourself, if you're fatigued and stressed out, that could lead to really big, bad things. So don't just look at writer's block or any type of creative block as something that's annoying or an issue, but look at it as what is this trying to show me about me and my life that I need to stop and take a look at? The next is doing the Pomodoro Technique. And the Pomodoro Technique basically says that we can be super creative and super productive in sprints. And his particular technique is the 25-minute sprint technique. And I think it's also good to pair this with, this is also another thing to do with writer's block in general, but you can also pair it with this technique, it's also scheduling your time to write or scheduling your time to create, like put it in your calendar. Like that's something I do, I block out the time, like this is like on Tuesday from two to four, like I'm writing. Whether or not I write a single word, my butt is in the seat staring at the paper. Because that is the time that I'm committed to writing. So the Pomodoro Technique says that you can do 25-minute sprints. So you sit down, you create, you write, or whatever it is, those 25 minutes, you go hard, you go fast, and when that's up, you take a much-needed break. But during that time, you are committed to doing it. And that's the Pomodoro Technique, that you can be highly effective, highly creative within these like mini-sprints. And I also like to say, schedule it in. You know, to me, if it's not on the calendar, it's not real. You know, I think sometimes we get this false idea that all creative people are kind of, you know, flaky, wishy-washy, non-committal, blah blah blah, but that's actually really not true. Like, I'm a pretty creative person, but I'm also very structured, so I like to put things in the calendar, I like to have things scheduled, I like to know what day I'm writing, what day is this. Of course, when I happen to just feel inspired, I will definitely hop on that and do it, but at the same time, I like to schedule it in. Because I also think that's the difference between, and also, if you guys haven't read the book, The War of Art, then, not The Art of War, yeah, The War of Art, and it's called Going Pro as well. The difference between being an amateur and a professional, particularly in creative spaces, in all spaces, but particularly creative ones, is whether or not you get paid, basically, right? Are you a professional or an amateur, and also the mindset you bring to your work. So for me, if I want to be a creative professional, that means that I have to bring the professional mindset to my work. So I like to schedule it out, I like to know when I'm writing, and I like to know my topics, and I like to just be very buttoned up when it comes to it, and that keeps me on track, and it keeps me focused. Focus is a big thing when it comes to being creative, we can do a whole other topic on that, but that's just something that I'm now being more committed to being. Another way is to try a writing prompt. And I know we do a lot of journal prompts when we're journaling, and that's more for like our inner work, and our self-esteem, and our self-care, and for manifesting, we'll do different journal prompts, right? Which is great. But we forget that we can also use that same technique when we feel creatively stuck, or we have writer's block. You can do a writing prompt, like say you're writing a novel, or you're writing a script, or you're writing a story, or you're just, you know, trying to do something, anything that's creative, do a writing prompt. You know, you can just say, it can be as simple as, why do I feel blocked right now? Why do I feel uninspired right now? You know, what story am I trying to tell but can't? You know, whatever it is, just to get, again, it's all about getting that stuck energy, that stagnant energy moving. You want to move it and you want to transmute it so that you're able to use it to be creative and to get into the flow. So you're not necessarily doing the writing prompt about what you're writing, the subject you're writing, but you're doing it to get clarity and perspective on why you're stuck. Because once you get clarity and perspective on why you're stuck, then you're able to maneuver it and work through it. And then the next one is very similar to that one, but a little bit different. So the one I just said was a writing prompt. The next one I want you to do is a free flow journaling, free flow writing, just free consciousness, right? And I want you, when you do this, I do want this one to be about the subject that you're trying to write about or the subject that you're trying to create. And instead of trying to feel like you have to write about, you know, what your outline is or what your topic is, just free flow. Just if you were starting from scratch and you were starting the story over, just free flow it and just let it flow. Because sometimes we get so stuck in thinking that we have to write the next chapter and it has to look like this, the characters have to do this, or we get stuck in anything that we're trying to do creatively, we think it has to be perfect, we're very rigid about it. And that rigidity can keep us stuck and uninspired. So let it flow. And I bet you when you go back and read it, you will find new story ideas, new character developments, new story arcs, you know, new possibilities, new ideas for what you want to do that you never even would have thought of. Because you were being so rigid about what you thought you had to write that you were blocking what you could be writing about, the possibility of where the story could go. And then last but not least, I would say connect with nature if you can. You know, go for a walk, put your feet in some water, put your feet in some sand, look up at the sky and just appreciate the sky and the sun and just really connect to it. Listen to the birds sing, you know, do whatever you need to do to connect back to nature, to connect back to yourself, and to get that inspiration. Because when you're feeling uninspired or not creative, literally the only thing you have to do is like, look around you. And there's so much abundance, there's so much inspiration, there's so much beauty. You know, even if you live in like a city, if you could just go outside and just look up, you know, just look up at the sky or whatever you can do or go online even and watch, you know, go online, go to YouTube and, you know, watch sunsets and watch the beach and watch all that stuff and just get into that flow and connect back to it. Because there is so much inspiration and love in nature, so to connect to that will definitely unlock your inner creativity, it will definitely unlock whatever is stuck in you and it will re-energize you and get your energy flowing. So with that, those are my 10 easy ways to overcome writer's block, to get your creativity flowing and to get back into it. I absolutely love all of those things. And so for anyone watching, thank you so much for joining me. Be sure to like Rate, Review, and Subscribe to my channel. Be sure to check out the description box and the show notes. If you're watching on Instagram, just go ahead and give me a little follow and click the link in my bio and everything we have going on is right in there. And until next time everyone, take care of yourself and be well. And also if you need more support and opening up to your creativity, if you need more support when it comes to your self-love and self-care, I have a new course called Create Your Dream Life. And that course is also linked below in the show notes and in the description box. So be sure to pick up the course and get started. I love you guys. Hey, Tanesia. How are you, sweetheart? So yes, you guys, we are wrapping up this one, but be sure to like Rate, Review, and Subscribe because we will be back here with more great content and shows for you guys. So until next time, be well, take care of yourself and each other.

Speaker 1: Welcome to Sugar Pills, a practical guide to self-care, where your host, writer, actor, and producer, Kandi Washington, helps you live a more joyful life with a cheeky dash of pop culture news. Be sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review, and join the conversation on Instagram at Kandi Washington. Let's go.