Hannah Jai

We were lucky to catch up with Hannah Jai recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I’m not sure I believe in writer’s block. For me, creativity comes down to two things – discipline and permission. I’ve noticed that the only times I have ever ceased to create is when I didn’t make it a priority or when I began to place criticism around my own thoughts and ideas. Writer’s block means being creatively bankrupt, and creatively speaking, there’s always at least one penny just waiting to be picked up in the parking lot or hiding under some couch cushions. For a long time, I thought songwriting was supposed to be a spur of the moment, catch me off guard, magical experience. While it definitely can be, that hasn’t always been true in my writing. Something that jolted me awake to the importance of intentionality was when the music industry told me, if I wasn’t completing at least two songs a week, I would never have a competitive chance. I was writing a lot of songs! Or so I thought. When I really looked at it, I wasn’t creating on a competitive level. I learned that I can’t expect to consistently create if I relied solely on the inspiration of a long car drive or singing in the shower. Before I’m tempted to say that I’ve hit a creative slump, I have to check my calendar. If I haven’t been setting aside at least a small part of my day to write, saying I have writer’s block would be like complaining about not having a six pack as I continue to eat junk food and skip the gym. I think it’s important to note that it doesn’t have to be an eight hour chunk of time. Some of the best songs have been written in 15 minutes. As long as there is productive and intentional time to write even a little every day, that muscle is getting strengthened. A practical exercise that has been helpful for me is setting aside time to freefall. No, not jumping off a plane and hoping my parachute works. This kind of freefalling involves setting a timer for 5 minutes, and letting my pen scribble from the moment I press start, to the moment that timer talks back. Sometimes I write a random fictional story. Sometimes I write, “I have no idea what to write today.” Writing about nothing is still writing something, right? Setting aside time for what I love is only one piece of the puzzle. I’ve also faced self-criticism when writing the actual songs. Someone described writing to me once like a mustard bottle – “sometimes you have to get the gross, watery stuff out of the way to actually get to the mustard.” In songwriter, this is interpreted, “write enough bad songs and eventually you’ll get to a good one.” Sounds easy enough, right? Well as a perfectionist, people pleaser, and my worst critic, it hasn’t been the easiest journey for me. It’s like I would stop the ideas before the lightbulb even had a chance to flicker. As cliche as it sounds, one of my biggest creative killers was not giving myself permission to be honest. Writing is one of the only ways I know how to communicate and share my soul, so it became a nightmare of a life when I started to put limits on what I was allowed to say. I’ve learned to never limit what I can write about or where I am allowed to get my ideas – relationships, heartbreak, trauma, truth, fiction, friendships, coffee – you name it. I have to allow myself to be inspired by everything, to see life as a whole through a creative lens, otherwise it becomes all too easy to throw that penny back into the fountain and call myself creatively bankrupt.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am currently working part-time as a live music coordinator for a local artist, and also working full time on my own music career by playing around the area weekly, writing songs, and investing in social media. This can look like spreadsheets and phone calls, writing songs, live streaming, to playing out at different venues with other local musicians. I’m really having a lot of fun with it. Most recently, I’ve been learning how to grow on social media and investing in building an online audience. It’s been really cool to connect with people online and see them relate to songs I’ve written. I love that this job as a whole constantly keeps me on my toes, and there’s always something I can be doing, whether that’s writing, recording, booking, social media, etc.

I’m currently booking gigs for my 2024 calendar. Next year, I plan on heading back into the studio to record some singles as well as co-write and record an album with one of my favorite local musicians. My first album “Bigger Shoes” also has a live album release show coming out soon for streaming and as a digital performance to enjoy. Lots of exciting things happening, so stay tuned!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Reflecting back, songwriting, networking, and surrounding myself with like-minded people have really been the most impactful so far in my music journey. Songwriting has always been the way I’ve been able to best express myself as an artist and best connect with my audience, so honing my craft of musical storytelling has always been extremely important to me and vital to my identity as a musician. If that’s not there, I’m just another girl who can carry a tune. Networking has been almost as vital as my songwriting. For example, I met my current music industry coach when I auditioned for a singing competition up in Canada. I didn’t make it past the second round, but we ended up connecting just because I said yes to an opportunity. He’s now been a monumental part of building me up as an artist and giving me the tools I need to be successful. I’m also very blessed to have friends who happen to be local musicians, and they’ve been gracious enough to have me join them at shows and connect me with local venues that offer live music. These are just some small examples, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, do the open mics, audition for the competitions, and get plugged into your local music scene, because you never know who you’re going to meet. For me, it’s also super important that my circle consists of fellow creatives. That can look like attending one of my friend’s gigs, playing a show together, songwriting, or simply talking about our creative endeavors or struggles. I’ve learned that if I don’t surround myself with the people that I admire, and who inspire me and push me to be better, it’s a lot easier for me to remain creatively stagnant. Not only that, but it’s just nice to have friends who understand everything you’re walking through, because they’re pursuing the exact same thing. I don’t feel qualified to give anyone advice, because I’m definitely still trying to figure out what I’m doing. But if I did have any last words, I would say let yourself write every song, even the “bad” ones. Say yes to every experience you can, and surround yourself with like-minded people who can help guide you and inspire you to grow in your craft. Oh, and keep showing up to those venues until they let you play a show or they give you a restraining order.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

For me, I think my strongest musical attribute is my songwriting. I feel like I really am the definition of “three chords and the truth.” I can carry a tune and play some guitar, but nothing else right now is at the same level of my storytelling. I’ve thought about this question before in regards to my own musical limitations, and honestly I think it’s a really good thing that everybody has different strengths and focuses. For me, I still do desire to grow in my singing and my guitar playing, but I’d prefer to put the most attention into writing songs because that’s what I love to do and what I feel is the main importance of my career. It’s also a great way to be able to lean into others and their strengths. I have a friend who is really skilled at producing music and playing guitar, and it allows us to work together to create something stronger than I feel like I would be able to do on my own. Especially in music, there’s always so many different aspects of being able to make a living outside of just playing and creating music. It’s booking shows, recording albums/production, merch design and sales, social media, artwork and graphics, website, email lists, content creation, live streams, on top of working on your craft. It can be a really exciting thing, but when you try to do it all on your own, not everything is going to be able to get done at the same level as someone who is an expertise in that area. In my field specifically, I definitely think it’s very beneficial to know the basics of the necessities, but more important to invest in my strength and what I want my focus to be at the end of the day, so eventually someone else can aid to all the areas I am weaker in. - Bold Journey