Recently, I attended a Comic-Con in my hometown, and there was a panel hosted by an old D&D buddy called “Keeping the Beacon Lit: How to Stay Creative During Dark Times.” He and two other creatives took the stage and talked about their struggles with mental health and how that affected them and their creative ventures. I wanted to take a moment and go over some of the great advice I received and even add some tips that you could use to “Keep the Beacon Lit.”

As creatives, we think, and we think a lot. It is, after all, kind of our job. Sometimes those thoughts get in our way and put up walls against creativity. Today, we sometimes believe that there are little creatures out to steal our creativity. The chaos gremlin, for example, will make your life a mess so that you can’t pursue your passions as a creative. In the Middle Ages, however, there was something quite the opposite: a fantastical creature from Greek lore that would visit artists and bless them with new ideas or the right word for the poem they were working on. In both cases, these creatures would often be used as excuses. We modern artists will say, “Life is too crazy right now, thanks, chaos goblin.” Authors of antiquity might have said, “Well, the muse just was not with me today.” Both of these are excuses. As people, more broadly, not just creatives, we love excuses. “I’m too tired today,” “My heart’s just not in it,” or “I’m exhausted.” I myself have used all of these to just avoid doing what I need to be doing. There was one creative, however, who said, “Enough is enough.” Pablo Picasso famously said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

I love this quote and cite it often when discussing creative pursuits with family and friends. When I quote it, though, it usually sounds a little different. Mine goes: “When the muse arrives, she must find you working.” In medieval lore, as previously mentioned, the muse was seen as a source of creative inspiration and many excuses. However, Picasso’s quote and my own rendition of it flip things on their heads and put the ball back in your court.

If a mystical muse, the beautiful and illustrious creature she is, shows up because she heard your call for inspiration, but arrives to find you lying in your bed, or scrolling TikTok on your phone, why would she waste her energy by blasting you with a spark of inspiration? Instead, what if she finds you sat at your computer, or at your writing desk with a blank page in front of you, or a pencil in hand? In either scenario, she might still give you that spark, but blank pages are much more flammable than a TikTok FYP (For You Page).

Back to the Comic-Con panel now, much of what the three creatives had to say was about ways they have found to keep the fire alive. Something they did not mention was writing anyway. Which is something I posed to them. Write, or create, not because you want to all the time, but because it matters, or because you can! One author mentioned that she gave up on an entire novel/world that she had created because the Political Climate of the real world didn’t seem welcoming to her story. I rebuffed her later, during one of my questions. I asked, “What if there was a little boy or girl out there who needs your story to see what they could be? What kind of world could they create if they strove for it?”

If you stop writing because you feel like you’re in the dumps, that is a selfish mindset. It is self-centered and self-serving. People out there need your stories, sometimes more than you do! Think about what Dr. Tolkien wrote, “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise, you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” Little children, both in body and heart, are out there and need to hear of brave knights and heroic courage. (No, I am not saying you must write Medieval Fantasy only.)

TL;DR?

Is the Creative Fire Dimming?

• Create Anyway!
• Create for those who need what you create.
• Create for your family.
• Create for your friends.
• Go to a local bookstore and browse the shelves for inspiring books/covers.
• Take your creating on the go, i.e. a coffee shop, a library, or a bookstore.
• Take a break (don’t give up! Set a Timer).