The Writer's Block Myth

There's no such thing as Writer's Block. Let me explain.

I used to suffer greatly from Writer's Block. I would wait and wait until that golden moment when inspiration would strike and I would take that opportunity to compose something magical. But those moments were few and far between. I always admired those composers who could write song after song. But that wasn't me. If I didn't feel it, I wasn't composing it. 

Then some years later when I was living in LA I was asked by David Vanacore to come on his team as a freelance composer. His words would forever change my life:

"I need you to compose three songs a day for me. Don't think about it. Just write quickly and move on to the next."

You might as well have said "I want you to jump out of an airplane with no parachute. And then do it again and again." 

I was petrified. But I had a job and I needed the money. 

So, I sat down with my guitar and the first idea that came to my head I just went with it. I recorded it, mixed it and mastered it and then moved on. Suddenly within 8 hours I had composed and produced 3 songs. I couldn't believe my ears. 

It was then that I realized that Writer's Block was a myth I had adopted. What was happening was my lack of wanting to compose anything "crappy". I only wanted to compose something AMAZING! And since I was only going to compose when the mood struck, and since it rarely ever struck, I had concluded that I had Writer's Block. 

I've now composed music for over 900 TV episodes and 9 feature films. And I can tell you a lot of it, and I mean A LOT of it, is total crap. But somewhere in the process of all that crappy writing a few gems have popped out. And it was thanks to David Vanacore that I discovered the difference between going to work every day vs. waiting for work to come.