Ivan Makarov Blog

The lives of creative people are all pretty similar.  For example, any photographer can learn a great deal about the craft from studying the work and lives of painters and other kinds of artists. With that in mind, I found myself recently reading the books on writing. Reading these books allows me to accomplish two things at the same time – I am learning how to become a better writer, and I am also learning about how to improve my creativity, because the principles of creativity involved are essentially the same.

One of the books I’ve been reading is a classic by William Zinsser, On Writing Well. In a chapter on finding one’s own style, the author talks about how writers often find themselves in a creative rut, as they begin working on a project. As photographers, we can certainly relate to the following words:

Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being examined for a hernia, and as for confidence, see how stiffly he sits, glaring at the screen that awaits his words. See how often he gets up to look for something to eat or drink. A writer will do anything to avoid the act of writing. I can testify from my newspaper days that the number of trips to the cooler per reporter-hour far exceeds the body’s need for fluids.

What can be done to put the writer out of these miseries? Unfortunately, no cure has been found. I can only offer the consoling thought that you are not alone. Some days will go better than others. Some will go so badly that you’ll despair of ever writing again. We have all had many of those days and will have many more.

In the past few years since I started doing photography, I can’t tell you how many times I felt like giving up and selling all my camera equipment. Sometimes I think about at an assignment or a project I decided I need to do, and there is no energy to begin. Other times, I simply don’t want to do anything related to photography because I feel no inspiration whatsoever.

I do think there is a cure – at least for photographers.

Nothing cures the creative rut better than actually getting the camera out and taking pictures. Sometimes I just start taking pictures of something in my backyard, or of my kids – and all of a sudden, the ideas begin flowing back again. Nothing can beat that in my experience.

But the bottom line here is that if you feel stressed or lack ideas or energy, it’s nothing to be too afraid of. It happens to all creative people.