Sometimes we run into obstacles that we just can’t go around or solve at the moment. An idea that is simply too large to see all at once, or a thought that you just need to sit on for a while. Just like we spoke of last week, it is good to be purposeful when you are faced with a challenge. To work through it and to solve it one step at a time. However, no one ever said that you had to face down your problems all at once. Stop sitting there hitting your head against a wall!
One of the things I like most about creating things is that if I get frustrated with a main project, I can do something else. Sometimes I will write myself into a corner or discover that a section is not working but I don’t know why. Instead of sitting there trying to solve something with the same old tired thinking, I branch out. There are always more stories to write, more worlds to explore, more things I can physically do differently when I hit a wall I can’t get around. Getting my mind off of a heavy project usually frees it up to come up with a solution I hadn’t even expected.
There is an important distinction between working on a side project and procrastination. These diversions are usually smaller projects, ideas I can play with and leave when it is time to return to the main project. I do not turn to them to delay making a decision, I turn to side projects as sources of inspiration, a way of unplugging from a problem that I might be too caught up in to see a way around.
This was an idea that I was introduced to in my early writing days, proximity can create problems. Let me explain. Let’s say I write a story and pour my heart and soul onto its pages. As its creator, I am not exactly impartial when it comes to cutting material that shouldn’t be there. This is why we have editors. They have space (and a professional eye) that allows them to judge the story and characters on their own merits and not because “OMG this scene was my favorite scene, the best thing I have ever written.” There is space between the editor and the story that the author does not have. Did any of that make sense?
The same can be said when we are faced with a difficult problem we can’t find a solution for. We stare up at the wall that looms over us. Every scenario we think of doesn’t work. Every solution we try, fails. Frustration mounts. There has to be a way over this wall. Being so caught up in trying to find a way over the wall, we forget to look for other solutions, not realizing that there is a door right in front of us.
Branching out and doing something else allows us to walk away from the wall. It gives us space. Even if it is just for a moment, we turn our attention away from the problem at hand and come back with fresh eyes. If you are stuck, don’t fret. Take a breath and do something else. Write a poem. Play with the kids. Draw a picture. Sometimes you will find that the solution is easier than you think.