Writing Update #3 – Creative Roadblocks (Sept 2025)

Welcome to writing update #3 – a long-awaited one for me personally and one that might actually end up slightly longer than the previous one. This is the first update after a much-needed revitalizing vacation, and with my new extra writing time set up. In my last check-in, I elaborated a little bit on how my writing began, evolved, disappeared, and resurfaced in the past 10 years, and all the struggles in trying to reconnect with this old friend (or shadow of a friend). I was so convinced that the only thing needed for this little reunion was enough time. I was maybe even too obsessed with this idea, having gone to great lengths to secure it. I thought that with my small achievement of reduced working hours, everything would be smooth sailing for writing (or at least smoother than before). Well, it turns out it doesn’t work like this. Surprise, surprise… Perhaps it was a little bit naïve and desperate (or both) to hope that the creative writing juices would flow on the very first part-time day after 10 years of full devotion to law and career. But at least you can give me credit for my strict creative standards, can’t you?

I’m not sure what specific outcome I was expecting of myself last Friday, but it was all very disappointing. I had the whole grand step-by-step writing revival plan in front of me. I had procured the time, done right by all interested parties. I ended up staring at the screen for a long time, waiting for the “open sesame” to the secret door of creativity. The page remained blank, of course, and I was bitter for the rest of the evening. It was extremely anticlimactic after all the efforts made to secure this extra time. I even pondered if it was all worth it, if I still had it in me, and if I didn’t just mislead myself based on a childish dream. Turns out, I still had my analytical hat on and simply needed to cut it some slack.

My analytical side has always been a strong front – it’s what pushed me through law school, what got me my legal job, and built my professional experience. I didn’t want to imagine that I might be just one of those left-brained people who just run around putting out “fires” or solving complex problems all the time. Only 10 years ago, I had praised myself with my creativity, with the ability to make up characters, write stories, and invent worlds. How could it have all been forsaken so quickly? Until I realized that creative thinking is a trained skill, like any other. It was a no-brainer that a person who spent so many years training their analytical side to an Olympic level, so to speak, would feel like a beginner with creative endeavors.

This truly made me remember how, in the first months of law school, I sat there alone, lost and confused with those heavy bricks of law books, trying to perform legal analysis using the structured IRAC method (issue, rule, analysis, conclusion). It sounded like an alien language to me. Oh, how many times I had questioned whether I was cut out for this and whether I shouldn’t just give up and go home right there and then! At the time, my creative side was at least a worthy opponent, if not dominant, to my analytical affinity, and that created enough confusion as it is regarding what I wanted for my future. The ambitious, organized, problem-solver girl of today had barely begun this road of adulthood, though. I’m not saying that adulthood requires only the analytical side or being a super problem-solver, but truth be told, this was the side that helped me push forward. So, last Friday, the irony of the situation was simply unbelievable, because it was the exact same type of roadblock, only years later and under entirely opposite circumstances. While previously I had been trying to turn off creativity to be analytical, now I was trying to force it back, hoping that it still existed in me.

Here’s where the key lies in essence – you simply cannot force creative thinking according to a pre-set schedule, just because you have Friday afternoon off or because the right moment in your life has finally arrived. Analytical thinking required a lot of hard work and consistent practice (with numerous completed legal assignments over the years, and now automatically every single day at work). Creativity is no different. You just need to show up. It’s all about consistently nurturing creative thought to flow safely and freely. The more you allow yourself to engage in creative activities (writing, painting, scrapbooking, or whatever you like), the more naturally it comes by itself, without the need for any forcing and witch spell casting.

Again, this might sound obvious to some more experienced creative minds who are more aware of their triggers and processes. But for myself, I’m grasping and learning this concept all over again, and this time as an adult who already had a certain established way of thinking. It’s nice to realize these issues early on because, in this way, this creative rediscovery might actually be more enjoyable than just ticking off milestones and completed chapters. After all, it’s all about our inner worlds and being in touch with them. It will be a long road until I’m so used to it (if ever) that inspiration would come as second nature, and I would just sit and write a chapter or two just like that on a Friday afternoon. But it’s easy to notice that the more intentional you are with creativity, with keeping writing at the back of your mind, or letting go and allowing the thoughts to flow without structure, the more ideas come on their own.

It needs to be mentioned, of course, that the two things (analytical and creative thinking) obviously require a very different and maybe opposite approach. Here’s where the left-brain, right-brain concept kicks in. You cannot solve mathematical problems by imagining the answers or paint a beautiful canvas by calculating which colors go well together. Analytical thinking is goal-oriented, evaluative, and structured. There’s an issue, you process it into steps, you rely on rules, logic, and precedent, you evaluate it on that basis, and come to a solution. It’s like a straight line. My legal profession requires me to be precise, correct, and rely on rules and my previous experience (precedent) in my analysis. Creative thinking, on the other hand, is all about possibilities and associations, about unpredictability. What if this, and why not try connecting and mixing this up here? It’s chaotic and unchained. You produce possible outcomes without rushing to judge and decide on them. It’s like a line that twists and branches endlessly. When I used to write in high school, I could imagine several different plots just by listening to a random conversation between two strangers on the bus. It was all about being expressive and free of structure.

Circumstances (like in my case) sometimes do require a lot of switching between these two hats (analytical and creative) – like if you’re a bilingual kid and you talk to your mother in one language and to your father in another. You can imagine that it’s not a simple thing to develop, and especially not overnight, but it is possible. It’s probably even recommended. A person wears many hats throughout their life, even simultaneously, even if they don’t fit well together. It’s clearly not black and white with the analytical/creative thinking issue. At the end of the day, you might need to be able to generate options in your legal position with some speck of creativity, and as a writer, you need to be able to critically analyze and edit your ideas into a finished format. But it all starts with developing each separately on its own, whenever time and circumstances allow.

This is exactly what helped me last Saturday to sit and jot down a new idea for a story. After all the bitterness of the unfortunate Friday, the next day I went on a walk in the windy autumn weather here in the Netherlands. Deep inside, I knew I needed to just let go, be free, walk outside without a clear direction, without caring for schedules and weather, and just let my mind come up with wonders. It took only 20 minutes to reconnect with creativity. I wasn’t even halfway to where I had the general idea of going. I sat down on a bench (right before the rain poured) and just penned down 200 words. It was a start, and a light in the tunnel. When I came back home, although wet from the sudden autumn shower, I was content with this little win and confident that this was not all for nothing and that a path of wonders awaited. PS: That extra time off I scored on Friday afternoon also ensures I have some consistent breathing room to let go and train this creative habit gradually, with no excuse that I have no time. Hence, in the end, I’m sure it won’t be a loss, but rather a small gateway.

How does your creative process look? Was it difficult to establish a habit? Do you find yourself sometimes torn between being analytical and creative, and having to switch hats a lot? As always, feel free to let me know if you can relate (or not).

Until next time,

D.D.N.