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reading time: 4 min





»Indeed it is,« said Gimli. »Why it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes to travellers in these days.«

The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien


(...) he would lade them with food to last them for weeks with care, and packed so as to be as easy as possible to carry-nuts, flour, sealed jars of dried fruits, and red earthenware pots of honey, and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time, and on a little of which they could march far. The making of these was one of his secrets; but honey was in them, as in most of his foods, and they were good to eat, though they made one thirsty…

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien


Today we are making honey cakes that would make Beorn proud! Well, actually I made these brownie-like cakes a looong time ago for my friend Björn's birthday because the name Björn (like Bjorn from Vikings) sounds very similar to Beorn and also means "bear" in Swedish, but didn't get around to posting them until now.

For those who aren’t familiar with The Hobbit, Beorn is a shape-shifter (J.R.R. Tolkien called it a “skin-changer” in the book) who helps Bilbo and the 13 dwarves on their quest to the Lonely Mountain. He’s a vegetarian, but can take on the form of a huge bear, who is very fond of honey and cream. Honey cakes were the speciality of the Beornings, the people living between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. You can find an illustration by Tolkien of Beorn's hall down below :)

Fun fact: The character of Beorn is probably based on the hero Beowulf, whose name is commonly translated to "bee's wolf" or "bee-hunter", which describes a "honey-eater", so a bear!

Since Beorn's honey cakes are "twice baked" according to the book and supposedly similar to cram, the Hobbit hardtrack (though tastier than that), and also similar to Lembas, the Elvish travel food, they are probably quite dry and firm. It's even possible that Tolkien had something like Italian Biscotti in mind, since the Latin (panis) biscoctus means "(bread) twice-baked".

After comparing 16 different recipe options, however, I decided to make a fluffier cake for my take on this recipe with ingredients based on the Dutch honey cake (Honingkoek) that is typically enjoyed with lashings of butter for a traditional breakfast in the Netherlands. I also drew inspiration from the Dutch and Flemish spiced breakfast cake (Ontbijtkoek) that bears similarities to gingerbread. (bears, gettit? ... never mind ...)

Anyway, here are my fluffy sweet honey cakes!


BEORN'S VEGAN HONEY CAKES

Preparation time: 50 mins
Main ingredients: spelt flour, almonds, honey / golden syrup
difficulty level: easy
makes: 12 cakes (9-inch square brownie pan)
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, wheat-free, yeast-free, soy-free

Ingredients

dry ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour (type 1050) *
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar or raw cane sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger OR 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of salt
1 tsp orange zest

wet ingredients:
1/2 cup of liquid mountain honey or clover honey (or vegan "honey" or golden syrup
or dark molasses, for vegan version)
1/4 cup of golden syrup (
or dark molasses – NOT blackstrap molasses!)
1/4 cup of soy milk
(use soy milk or pea milk to achieve vegan "buttermilk" that curdles)
1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

3 tbsp golden syrup or liquid honey + 2 tbsp water for soaking


* If you are confused about that flour type, check out this website which explains the difference between German flour types and US-American flour types.  



Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 °C / 350 °F. Line a 9-inch square brownie pan with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients except for the sugar. Stir. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter/margarine and sugar. Mix soy milk with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to form vegan "buttermilk". Add this to the butter mixture. Lastly, add honey and syrup. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan.

B
ake in the preheated oven at 180 °C / 350 °F for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven. Brush the still warm cake with some diluted golden syrup or liquid honey if you like. This is optional, as the cake is plenty sweet on its own. Decorate with orange zest or leave plain. *

Run a knife (preferably of Gondolin or Númenórean make – no Morgul blades!) around the side of the cake, and slice into brownie-sized squares.


Cool in the pan and serve warm or cold and slathered with butter, custard, ice cream or whipped cream.
Beware, hobbits and dwarves are known to be prodigious eaters, so a single cake will not be sufficient for large parties!

Stored in an airtight container this cake will keep for at least four days. In fact, it becomes even more delicious if you keep it for a couple of days wrapped in foil or wax paper.

Cut into individual squares or slices, this can also be kept in the freezer for up to two months.



NOTES:

- Instead of making the cakes brownie-shaped you could also transfer the batter into a greased 9x5 inch  loaf pan or a greased muffin pan, or into lined cupcake tins, filling each cup 2/3 full.
- * You can also top off the cake with a proper glaze. In a small bowl, mix icing sugar, unsalted butter, lemon or orange juice, and vegan whipping cream. Spread all over the cake(s) using a spatula. Top with a handful of chopped toasted walnuts or almonds, and orange zest.
- If you like, you can also replace part of the plant-based milk with 4 tablespoons of Scotch whiskey or rum. You could even replace all of the milk with freshly brewed, cooled strong coffee.





Looking for more nerdy recipes? Check out some of my other literature-inspired creations:

Sansa's Lemon Cakes (vegan)
Bilbo's Seed Cakes (vegan)


♥

Maisy



 reading time: 2 min





Hello fellow chocolate lovers,

as I am still currently buried in work for this year's NaNoWriMo, here's a quick little recipe for you that I (or actually, more like my fiancé J) made for our friend's baby shower last month.

If you've been a loyal reader of my blog for a looong time, you may remember that I made a coconut milk based low carb vegan Mousse au Chocolat for a Murder Mystery Dinner Party five years ago (which was hosted by the same friend who is now expecting a baby!! I just realized, haha) – and I may or may not have promised you back then that I would make a version with silken tofu instead in the future ... well, five years later, here we are!

Other than that my blogging (or at least photography) skills have improved since then, I don't really recall whether the coconut milk version or this silken tofu version tastes more original, but I can tell you that the coconut milk one was fluffier than this one, which is more firm and doesn't taste like coconut – yay! And don't you worry. You can't taste the tofu in this one at all!

Plus, you only need 4 ingredients to make this silky vegan Mousse au Chocolat with a deliciously deep chocolate flavour.

It's
creamy
rich
chocolaty
silky-smooth
satisfying
high-protein
low-fat
vegan
and super delicious!

Besides baby showers, this decadent but healthy-ish Mousse au Chocolat makes for a wonderful dessert for Samhain, Yule, or Valentine's Day.

This recipe should be made ahead of time as the mousse is best served after a few hours of refrigeration or even the next day!

 reading time: 3 min




I'm a sucker for milk tea.

Whether it's black tea, chai tea, roiboos tea, or matcha –– they all taste better with a splash of milk in it! Plant-based milk, of course.

So after making my very first Dirty Chai last week, I was determined to make another milky tea beverage that fit the mood of dark and cold November nights perfectly: LONDON FOG.

I've always loved the name of this beverage. A name that immediately brings the smoky streets of a Victorian London to mind, horse-drawn carriages rattling over rain-slicked cobblestone, giggling girls in corsets making their way home, lit only by the blotchy egg yolk yellow light of the dim street lamps, and Jack the Ripper lurking somewhere in the murky shadows.
 
Or perhaps my imagination is just running wild, lol.

London Fog is a delicious aromatic Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla that compliments the citrusy bergamot flavour of the Earl Grey. It's creamy, it's warm, it's vanillary sweet and indulgent. Just the right cup of tea to cosy up on the couch with on a hazy November afternoon.

I can definitely see Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple sitting at the window, sipping their London Fog while they rack their brains over some tricky crime case ...



VEGAN LONDON FOG

Preparation time: 10 mins
Main ingredients: oat milk, Earl Grey, vanilla, sugar
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup full-fat oat milk *
2 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 tsp loose leaf Earl Grey tea

2 tsp raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

* In order to achieve the desired creaminess I find that you get the best results when using either the
Alpro Not M*LK with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or the Oatly Oat Drink Barista Edition with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or their Oat Drink Whole with 2.8 g fat per 100 ml. You could also try vanilla sweetened milk, and omit the vanilla extract!

Instructions:

Steep the tea in freshly boiling hot water for 5 to 7 minutes until quite dark and strong.
Remove the teabag or infuser.

Add vanilla essence and sugar, and stir to dissolve.

Divide the sweetened tea between two cups. Each cup should be filled at least two thirds of the way with the tea.

Steam the full-fat oat milk, using a frother or an immersion blender, and pour it into the tea over a spoon to create that "foggy" effect. Top off with frothed milk.

Serve immediately. Cheers!


To make an iced London Fog:
 
Steep your tea in boiling water. Allow to steep for 5 to 7 minutes for a strong brew, then whisk in the vanilla and sugar to dissolve.

Discard tea bags, and allow the tea to cool.

Pour the cold tea into a glass filled with ice. Finish off with full-fat oat milk to make it nice and creamy. Serve and enjoy immediately.

SO GOOD.



 
TIPS:
- To make this rich beverage even more decadent, omit the water, and steep your Ear Grey tea in 2 1/2 cups of full-fat oat milk that you heat up in a small saucepan. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract, pour into your favourite mug, and enjoy!
- For another variation, try with a vanilla-sweetened milk, and omit the sugar and vanilla extract.
- If you don't have a milk frother or an immersion blender, pour the milk into a jar with a lid – no more than a third of the way full. Seal the jar with a lid and give it a good shake for about 30 seconds or so. That's actually what I did in this recipe!




Did you know that the "London Fog" was not invented in London, but in Vancouver in 1996 by a woman named Mary Loria who was pregnant at the time and was looking for an alternative to coffee in a café? Apparently, there's also a variation with Matcha green tea, called "Tokyo fog", and a variation with rooibos tea, called "Cape Town fog", as well as the "Bangalore fog" or "Bombay fog" that uses chai tea instead of Earl Grey. There's even a drink called "London Smog" that is made up of the same ingredients as a regular London Fog, but with the addition of a shot of espresso. So basically ... a Dirty Earl?!

While I do enjoy a cup of decaf coffee every once in a while, I am definitely more of a tea drinker. What about you? Are you team tea or team coffee? Or both? (Dirty Chai?!)



♥

Maisy

reading time: 6 min



Last year I shared how to make your own food dumplings for wild birds (and squirrels), so this time I want to show you my favourite DIY bird feeding station – using a flower pot! If you want to make this the easy way, just use a store-bought birdseed mix. However, I usually make my own customized birdseed blend. Recipe below!

Bird feeders are very easy to make yourself. Not only are they a great way to get crafty with kids, but they also help our local birds through the winter.

The great thing about this bird feed is that it's reusable! All you need to do is buy the perishable ingredients each winter, melt them all together, and fill up the reusable flowerpot. But more on that below ...

IMPORTANT: You can use your bird feeder during the months of November until late February, or late March. Do NOT continue to feed the birds in the spring because they will pass on the grainy birdseed to their young, which can't digest the heavy food and might even die from it! So no bird feeding after March!!

  reading time: 3 min





Confession time: I had never heard of a "dirty chai" before recently watching Rachel Talbott's video on seasonal home maintenance – I absolutely adore her videos, especially the ones about gardening and housekeeping!!

So in case you aren't familiar with the concept of dirty chai either: It's a hot or cold beverage that consists of a single shot or double shot of espresso mixed into a spiced chai tea (masala chai) that is usually made with a chai concentrate. Combined with frothed milk, you've got yourself a mix between a regular latte macchiato, and a chai tea latte –– a DIRTY CHAI latte!


This beverage is also known as espresso chai or java chai.

Loving both chai tea and (decaf) coffee, I was immediately intrigued and decided to make my own dirty chai latte as soon as possible – not the iced version though, as we are already in the midst of a grey and rainy autumn here in Northern Germany.

And what can I say?
It's creamy, it's silky and milky, and fragrantly spiced with a mild coffee flavour – and I love it!!

So here's how you can make your own!


VEGAN DIRTY CHAI

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: oat milk, chai tea, coffee
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups full-fat oat milk *
1/2 cup boiling water
2 chai tea bags (or make your own chai spice blend, and use 3 tsp of that in this recipe along with 2 bags of black tea or rooibos tea)

1/4 cup hot strong coffee or 1 shot espresso, freshly brewed (I use decaf coffee)
2 tsp raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon, to garnish

* In order to achieve the desired creaminess I find that you get the best results when using either the Alpro Not M*LK with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or the Oatly Oat Drink Barista Edition with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or their Oat Drink Whole with 2.8 g fat per 100 ml. You could also try vanilla sweetened milk, and omit the vanilla extract!

Instructions:

Place the 2 tea bags in a mug and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Allow to steep for at least 10 minutes (along with the spice blend, if using), then whisk in the sugar and vanilla extract to dissolve. The longer the tea steeps, the more intense the flavour will be!

Discard tea bags.

In a small saucepan, heat up the full-fat oat milk until simmering. Remove from heat, and use a milk frother or a handheld immersion blender to foam up the milk.

Divide the strong sweetened chai tea between two mugs. Pour the frothed milk over the top of the hot drink. Lastly, pour in the hot strong coffee or espresso.

Top with cinnamon and/or a small cinnamon stick.

Serve hot. Enjoy!



To make iced dirty chai:
 
Place the 2 tea bags in a mug and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Allow to steep for at least 10 minutes, then whisk in the sugar to dissolve.

Discard tea bags, and a
llow the tea to cool.

Divide a handful of ice between your glasses, and pour the cold tea over the ice. Add espresso. Then pour refrigerated full-fat oat milk on top. Serve and enjoy immediately.


TIPS:
- To make this recipe even more decadent and rich, omit the water, and simmer your tea bags (along with the spice blend, if using) in 2 cups of full-fat oat milk, then reduce stove heat to low, and steep for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add coffee, sugar and vanilla, and enjoy!
-
If you don't have a milk frother or an immersion blender, pour the milk into a jar with a lid – no more than a third of the way full. Seal the jar with a lid and give it a good shake for about 30 seconds or so.




♥

Maisy

reading time: 19 min


“To be creative means to be in love with life.
You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty,
you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
– Osho

With the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) around the corner, I'm once again faced with mustering my creative energies in order to write a total of 50,000 words this November.

I can't tell you how often I've heard (and said!) the sentence: "I'm just not creative." Or: "I don't feel inspired today." Being not only a teacher of Creative Writing at my local university, but also a freelance editor and even more importantly a long-time writer, I am constantly confronted with the concept of inspiration, creativity and – sigh – creative block.

In general, a creative block or artist's block describes a period of time where we lack inspiration to create something and lose the ability to create new work.

Every artist's worst nightmare.

Most people are probably familiar with the term "writer's block", but actually it's never really a problem of not being able to "write" – but it's usually to do with unrealistic expectations, too many distractions, creative burn-out, overwhelm, an uncertainty about where to go next, or a lack of faith in your project. Luckily, those are all problems you can find a solution for.

So here are my tips on how to beat a creative block and get inspired again!

In other words:


HOW TO BE CREATIVE WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE IT



Don't Feel Bad About It

Before we try to figure our why we feel this way and what we can do about it, we first have to just accept the fact that we feel this way. And that it's okay to feel this way. We all have days like that.

I know, this is probably not what your were hoping to hear as the first tip, but honestly: Don't feel bad about feeling uncreative and uninspired. It's totally normal and okay!
Trust me, every single creative person feels this way at some point in their lives. However, what separates a full-time artist from an occasional artist is how they handle this obstacle.
 
 
Find the Root of your Creative Block

The first step towards getting past a creative block is figuring out the reason for it.
Depending on what the root of your creative block is, you are going to handle and approach it in very different ways. The most common reasons for a creative block are: lack of passion for the project (or life overall), lack of clarity, perfectionism, fear of failure, self-doubt, feeling overwhelmed, being emotionally distracted with personal problems, or burnt-out.

Knowing what causes your creative block, you will know how to overcome it.

F
or example, if you aren't passionate about the project, either find another project that does spark joy and passion and creativity in you, or – if jumping from one unfinished project to the next seems to be a reoccurring problem – try to locate why this happened. What has changed? What is blocking your way? Perhaps your priorities have changed? 

If you are suffering from your nagging self-doubt and thoughts of "I can't do this, I'll never be as good at this as xyz", it's probably best to focus on doing things that boost your self-confidence and lifts your spirits. What makes you feel good? Make a list of things that make you feel happy, inspired or creative. For me, this is dancing, singing, gardening, doing pottery, spending time with pets, and reading great books. Do these things as often as possible to re-connect with your inherent feelings of joy and excitement!

In the case of perfectionism and fear of failure preventing your from trying, it can be helpful to force yourself to do it "badly" and accept the flaws – whereas during a phase of emotional distractions or life's external events (e. g. grief, divorce, exam phase, childbirth etc.), allow yourself to take a break from your projects altogether.

If you have reached a dead end with your project, and feel stuck in that way, then chances are that you either don't know enough about your project (i. e. your story or your fashion design), or you took a wrong turn and need to backtrack. If the latter is the case, then you need to retrace your previous steps and take a different path at an earlier point (e. g. change the narrative perspective of a movie scene, or change your story's protagonist, or choose a completely different painting style to what you usually do).

If you simply don't know enough about your project and face a wall because you haven't properly explored an idea enough to be able or willing to spend time with it, simply do a brainstorming session to clarify any ambiguities. Planning your next steps and defining an end goal – that might still change overtime, but will serve as your roadmap – is an important part of preventing and overcoming a creative block.

"The Passion of Creation", Leonid Pasternak, late 19th century (source)
 
 
Find your "Why"

When you are struggling to feel inspired and creative, remind yourself of your motivation. Whenever I start a new creative writing course at my university, I always ask my students at the beginning of the first lecture why they are here. What are they hoping to learn from this class? And most importantly, why do they want to write?

The trick to achieving anything in your life is to identify your "Why Power" – in this case, identifying why it's even important for you to be creative.
So ask yourself:

Why do you want to create?
What was it about that specific project that initially fascinated you?
What is it that you want to shout from the rooftops?


Once you know your "Why", once you remember what it is that you love about making art or finding creative solutions, it will usually loosen the creative block you've been having.

Art and creation is supposed to be fun! What makes it fun for you?

Another great way to remind yourself of your passion for your challenging project is to write down what is special, exciting, funny, moving and unique about your project! If that doesn't get you excited, create a mood board for your project (e. g. your story or your music) or a vision board for what you love most about your creative work. Or write down what other artworks you know are similar and what you find most interesting or great about them.
Or look at a creative project of yours that you really like, and motivate yourself that way. 

In my case, it always helps to read novels by my favourite authors that I love and that make me want to "write a book that is as great as that".

Keep your "Why" in mind all the time – it can help to put a sticky note or an image or something that reminds you of your "Why" at your desk or on a nearby pinboard. Saving your inspiring vision board
as your computer wallpaper also helps with that.

Purpose begets passion.
 

Use Creative Sprints

Sometimes the task of sitting down to work on a creative project for hours or even days can be intimidating and overwhelming, and the very idea drains you of any energy and creativity you've had.

But what if you trick yourself into getting some creative work done even if you don't feel like it, using small, achievable goals?

With creative sprints you set a timer for a specific short period of time (anything from 5 to 45 minutes works great, in my experience), eliminate all distractions, and then do nothing but work on your creative project for that set time. And that's it.

For my writing, I love to use writing sprints or write-ins (such as the ones from Kate Cavanaugh) to get my work done in short, but productive intervals, especially during NaNoWriMo with a daily word count goal of 1,667 words.

So if you don't have the motivation right now to work for 2 hours or to write 2000 words, maybe you can manage to work as little as 10 minutes or 100 words instead!

Either set a timer for a certain time, or set yourself a word count goal, or some other tangible goal, depending on your creative work. Once your timer goes off, or you've reached your goal, maybe you feel like you could do another 10 minutes of work, or another 100 words. And so on ... until you've tricked yourself into working those 2 hours after all!

Or not, and that's fine too. Take the pressure off. Just do what you can.

Personally, I have found that the Pomodoro Technique (where you spend 25 minutes working focused and distraction-free, then take a 5 minute break, and repeat three times, so a total of 2 hours)
works best for me. My current favourite pomodoro sprints are this motivating 25 Minute Epic Fantasy Music Writing Sprint by Bethany Atazadeh as well as these 2 Hour 25/5 Study Sprints by Inner Academia and various of the Fantasy-Themed Pomodoro Study Sessions by Peaceful Ambience.
 
However, on days where I feel completely creatively blocked and uninspired, even 25 minutes can seem daunting, so on these days I will go for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, or a low word count such as 100 words.

In my experience, this will not always lead you to getting more done than you've set out (although it often will), but at least you get a little bit done instead of nothing at all!

"Maisy without Make-up and with much-too-big Blue Light Glasses", herself, early 21st century 🤓


Give Yourself Permission to Suck

This next tip blends into what I said earlier about dealing with the fear of imperfection or failure.

There is something incredibly freeing about giving yourself the permission to do things badly. In fact, I sometimes encourage my students to do the opposite of what they would usually do – to write badly on purpose! It's so much fun to allow yourself / challenge yourself to write the worst piece of literature you've ever written. For example, try to use as many cliches, or as many dumb stereotypes as possible, and write the cringiest dialogues!

Speaking of cringy – did you know that Jim Butcher, the author of the popular contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files and Codex Alera (both of which I love!), actually wrote one of his first novels as a way to prove to his writing professor how wrong she was about the basic rules of writing she was teaching. By writing exactly to her template, which he thought was boring and awful, he wanted to show her what "cookie cutter pablum crap" emerges from that. The result was
the first novel of his Dresden Files series, Storm Front.

So if this teaches you anything – it's that it will always lead to some sort of growth or insight if you leave your comfort zone, even if it might seem like the dumbest idea.


As they say: You can't edit a blank page. And this is so true! So just get your visions onto that page (or canvas, or whatever you're working with), and be okay with it being a hot mess right now. Trust that you will be able to edit and polish it later and make it into something great.

No one is perfect, that's why the pencil has an eraser 😉

Don't beat yourself up because you think what you do isn't "good enough" – this is the most common phenomenon amongst creative people. Of course you want to be as good as you can, and to reach your full potential, but often we have too high expectations that limit our motivation and productivity. There is always room for improvement for everyone, but that doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up. Try to get comfortable with being bad sometimes. It's okay not to be perfect. It's okay to suck.

And remember: You're not failing, you're just finding out what doesn't work!
 
 
Get Moving

When you are stuck, it can help to physically get out of your blind alley. Instead of sitting at your desk and complaining about your inability to get creative, get up and go for a walk – this will get you out of your head and into your body. Who knows, maybe it will spark your inspiration. Light exercising like doing yoga or stretching is another great alternative. Or have a crazy dance-off by yourself!

I find that monotonous activities such as cleaning or doing the dishes, mowing the lawn or taking a shower, also have the tendency to give us new ideas. During these activities our thoughts tend to wander, often presenting us with a solution to a problem we've been stewing over for hours and hours.

Sometimes it can also help to focus our attention on other creative activities. For example, if you are a writer like me, perhaps do some doodling or pottery today. If you are a videographer, why not write a poem, or design your dream house, or cook a three-course menu?

"If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem."
– Hilary Mantel, author
 

Take Yourself Out on an Artist Date

The concept of Artist Dates – created by Julia Cameron – was introduced to me a few years ago by the youtube channel Lavendaire. They are meant to spark inspiration and nurture your creativity by spending quality time alone to explore something that interests you and recharges your creative batteries.

"Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. When choosing an Artist Date, it is good to ask yourself, 'what sounds fun?' — and then allow yourself to try it."
– Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

So what you can to is set aside time once a week to go out by yourself and do something to push your slightly out of your comfort zone. This could be exploring a foreign city, or trying out a new hobby. It could also be picking up some air-dry clay from an art supply store and getting creative with it. Or spending 24 hours in a 24-hour café and starting fun conversations with strangers. Or going to a park in the neighbourhood and taking pictures of beautiful plants. Whatever your heart is yearning for :)

This can be very helpful to get out of that artist's block because you are 1) doing something fun that makes you happy, and also because you are 2) getting out of your comfort zone and possibly broadening your horizon.

One thing I've been wanting to do for a while is take myself on a writing retreat somewhere remote where I can fully immerse and focus on my story (perhaps even during this NaNoWriMo?) without the distractions from everyday life.

I've also been toying with the idea of taking Caro Arevalo's online course Rituals Around Creativity some time soon. As this is also part of her creativity rituals – perhaps doing a cacao ceremony right before sitting down to work on your project might help you to reconnect with your creative energy.

Whatever you choose, make it fun!

Find & Create Your Creative Zone

Sometimes the reason why we feel uninspired and don't meet our creative goals is that we
are just not working in our right rhythm yet! Determining what time of the day is your most creative time, your "genius zone" – which is not to be confused with the most productive time in general, as this might only apply to administrative work but not to creative work – will help you get into a state of flow, creativity, energy and fulfilment. For example, I found that in the mornings I am the most productive in terms of getting tasks done, such as answering e-mails, blogging, doing household chores, or planning my next creative writing class. However, I need the comfort of an idle afternoon or evening, or even the late night hours, to get into a creative mindset.

To find out which time of the day works best for you, I recommend doing creative prompts for a few days in a row: a few days in the morning (6 to 9 a.m.), a few days at noon (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), a few days in the afternoon (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.), a few days in the evening (7 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and a few days at night (11 p.m. to 2 a.m.). Write down how much you got done during each sprint, and also how you felt. At the end of the experiment, simply compare the numbers and how you felt. That way it should be easier to pinpoint your individual "genius zone".


Besides determining your most creative time of the day, you can also actively create your "creative zone". As I write in my old blogpost on dealing with procrastination, it's vital to tidy up your desk before sitting down to work (otherwise the mess will distract you) and to make your workspace as inspiring and motivating as possible. In my case, this means having some crystals, air-purifying plants, an essential oil diffuser, blue light glasses, my manifestation journal, my planner, my favourite pens, inspiring work-related books, a mug with either warm water or my favourite tea, and a lot of empty space in my home office.

Another great and easy way to get yourself into work mode (or in our case specifically: creative mode) is to dress in a way that signals your body and your brain that it's time to focus and get some work done. Wearing neat "work appropriate" clothes such as comfortable cloth pants and knitted jumpers instead of stained lounge wear has helped me tremendously to separate my at-home work life from
my personal life.


Show Up Daily

Weirdly, the most effective way to beat a creative block is by giving yourself STRUCTURE and CONSTRAINT. Believe it or not, a creative block will often occur when we have too much free time, or when we don't have enough boundaries to hold us accountable.

As important as knowing your motivation is, it's not the only thing we should rely on. Doing the thing even when you're NOT motivated is what will eventually get you to your goal. We've got lazy brains that just want to watch Netflix all day instead of actually following through with our projects. We often lack self-control and/or self-discipline, so we need to just do things even if we don't feel like it. And then we'll be all the more proud of ourselves for accomplishing it!

Or to quote another favourite author of mine, Brandon Sanderson: "Success – in all aspects of life – can often be traced to learning how to make yourself to do the things you want to have done." 
 
So what are
the things that you don't want to do but you want to have done?

In order to actually do them, it goes back to what motivates you. Is it the numbers counting up in your word document? Or is it the thought of sharing your work with others who might be inspired by it? Or being able to make money with something you love doing?

Tying back to what I've said about using creative sprints as a way to trick your brain into overcoming that initial overwhelm, you can also sit down daily and ask yourself this simple question: What is one small step I can take today that will bring me closer to my goal?

One small step. That's all you've got to do right now.

And then another. And then another. One day at a time.
 
Creativity is a muscle, a lot like exercise, and so it's best to practice your creative muscle daily to build strength and also get into the habit of it.

Just like you don't just suddenly get up from the couch after binge-watching your favourite show and eating chocolate all day to run a marathon without training. First, you need to build up your endurance. If you haven't been creative for a while, your creative muscles are weak and atrophied.

So give yourself the necessary structure – such as a daily routine – to build up that stamina to actually be able to work creatively consistently. In his book
Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad Times Austin Kleon puts it like this:

"There will be good days and bad days. Days when you feel inspired and days when you want to walk off a bridge. (...) A daily routine will get you through the day and help you make the most of it. (...) When you don't know what to do next, your routine tells you. When you don't have much time, a routine helps you make the little time you have count. When you have all the time in the world, a routine helps you make sure you don't waste it."

Kleon's advise resembles the procedure of habit stacking. Habit stacking is a great method to incorporate a new habit into your pre-existing routine, and also to avoid procrastination by letting you flow automatically from one action right into the next action without thinking about it or having the chance to build resistance to it.

What you want to do is link a new habit (such as sitting down to work on your creative project every day) to an existing one, such as having a cup of coffee in the morning, working out, or eating breakfast. For example, you could sit down to write your to-do list right after having journaled in the mornings, if that's something you do on the regular, followed by a brainstorming session for 15 minutes, and then a writing session for 45 minutes. Or if you are more of a night owl, you could make it a habit to compose music for 1 hour right after eating dinner, or edit a youtube video before allowing yourself to have dessert.

To some of you a strict routine like this may sound restrictive. But a little restriction – when it is self-imposed – can be very liberating. To quote Austin Kleon again: "Rather than restricting your freedom, a routine gives you freedom by protecting you from the ups and downs of life and helping you take advantage of your limited time, energy, and talent. A routine establishes good habits that can lead to your best work."

 
Finish What You've Started

This can be hard advice to hear, but it's one of the most important lessons I have learnt so far: Finish your project!

I know this feels counter-intuitive in some situations – for example when you seem to have
lost all interest and passion for your project and really want to adopt a shiny new plot bunny that seems way more appealing at the moment –, but sticking to one project and seeing it through instead of throwing in the towel whenever it gets difficult, is a valuable lesson not only regarding your creative career, but also in life in general.


Whether it's a poem or a novel or a music piece – get to that ending. You can always revise it later, and even change the whole thing, if necessary. You will learn more by finishing one project than by starting 100 projects that never get past the midway point.

The more often you build up this perseverance of working on your creative project when you don't want to and not giving up, the less often you'll actually want to give up, and the less often you'll find yourself in a "creative block".

If you stop working on a project every time it gets bumpy and challenging and go straight to the next tempting new idea, you will never grow beyond those challenges. Even if you finish the project and discard it immediately afterwards, the very process of sticking with it to the end will noticeably improve your skills – and it will be significantly easier to finish your next project instead of dropping it at the next best opportunity.

So whatever you do, commit yourself to it fully. Keep going. Finish what you have started!
 
 
I hope this article helped you in some way, and that you feel prepared to get (yourself) out of a creative slump anytime. Don't be disheartened. Courage, dear heart :)

In the comments, I’d love to hear how your creative projects are going. What are you working on right now?


 
You might also find these helpful:

The Inspiration Myth | 8 Ways to Get Creative Instantly

12 Ways to Cultivate & Increase your Feminine Energy
How to Create the Life you Want
Dealing with Procrastination | Productivity Tips


♥

Maisy


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