Finding your voice is one the hardest things to do in the world of the creative. Finding the point where we place language with passion. Giving words to your passion is sometimes just plain hard to do.
I have found myself in the middle of a creative conundrum so many times…a great idea comes to mind, but when it is time to articulate…BLAH. So many times we find that thin place where we are completely connected to our ideas yet we have no words, no way to articulate.
Sometimes we use visuals, pictures, video, and even sound to articulate our passions…but sometimes we must find the connection to our internal discourse. So how do we find the voice?
I have always stepped back and taken part in answering three questions:
1) Who is our audience? Who are we trying to communicate and reach?
2) What is our purpose? Why are we trying to communicate this message? Why do we want to spend the time and energy to achieve this goal?
3) How are we going to deliver this message? Are we going to use words, visuals, sounds to reach our audience?
This helps me frame my thoughts. This helps me bring context to my mission.
Then…I free write. Yes…I do a brain dump by writing until I cannot write anymore. We should not deny our creative impulses and allow our ourselves to freely share our deepest passions.
When I am deep in a creative desert, one that feels like it is hard to find my way to water…I use music to inspire. I grab my keys, jump in the car, roll down the windows, and blast my favorite songs. I sing as loud as possible and use this time to purge all my predispositions. Sometimes that is all I need, to purge what is clouding my judgement.
Finding your voice can be hard sometimes…but sometimes we have to be willing to get away from what makes us comfortable and allow the creative juices to flow.