Get out to flow

I have struggled all day with the story of the game I’m working on. Too much distractions around me, a short meeting in the morning, and a head buzzing from a severe cold. I wasn’t able to get in the groove; the plot points and characters just wouldn’t fit. I even tried herbal tea and nature sounds to kickstart the flow of the creative juices. It didn’t help. So after a couple of hours of staring at a blank screen I finally decided stop hurting myself and to take off.

I grabbed a notebook (the papery kind) and a pen and rode my bike to the canal that flows nearby. I found a lovely spot bathing in sunshine, surrounded by trees and the sound of flowing water. I planted my backside on a bench, opened the notebook and stared at the blank paper for a while. I had a bit of a false start, but then it happened: I just couldn’t stop writing. The loose ends finally made sense and it all started to fit. The dangling characters had the right motivations and the plot points actually matched the level structure. Forty five minutes of manic scribbling and I was done. What the hell happened there?

Of course I shouldn’t act so surprised because I have been there before; sometimes after days of struggling it can all just come together at once. Any creative knows that, it even has a name: Creative Flow. I just wish I had more control over those moments. I think getting out of my regular environment without my computer and its distractions was what did it today. I should do this more often: when stuck for a while -> get out. Unfortunately the “for a while” part is so hard for me to judge. Man, this coming up with stuff business is so much hard work.

gr.jakko

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