During lower-stress times they had independently begun journaling methods they used to approach those creative blocks when they weren't under pressure so that they could refer to them when they WERE under pressure.

The two discovered that when they were under pressure, they had a tendency to go with the most straightforward solution, to work 'within the box,' which often wasn't the best solution.

The idea sprung from meetings between the two artists when they compared notes and realized they both produced under time pressure and often encountered either writer's block or creative dilemmas that ordinarily wouldn't be a problem to solve but became a problem in high-stress production environments. It is a pack of 100 cards, each with a short strategy or suggestion designed to help an artist break through either writer's block or a creative dilemma. Sometimes it just needs a gentle kick in the butt.Įnter The Oblique Strategies, a rather unique creative tool created by producer and musician Brian Eno and his friend and painting teacher, Peter Schmidt. Creativity is an interesting thing that can at times be at odds with time pressure. As a composer and producer I've found myself with a nearly completed song or project on the DAW with an impending delivery date (or time), knowing it needed something but sitting, staring at the screen, wondering what to do to finish it. You are percolating along and all of a sudden you can't figure what to do next. Have you ever sat in your writing space, studio, or creative place, trying to finish a project but battling writer's block? It happens to lots of people, from beginners to the absolute pros. THE OBLIQUE STRATEGIES THE OBLIQUE STRATEGIES

Brian eno oblique strategies