4 Ways To Take Charge Of Your Creativity
Bursts of inspiration no longer have the reins.
A writers group I regularly attend was recently asked to imagine our creativity like a garden. What does our garden look like? Is it empty or full? Are we ready to plant something new?
I said mine looked like bunch of newly planted 1-year old perennials that were stuck at a certain phase of growth. I was not feeling overly inspired that night.
Most writers or creatives rely on a feeling of inspiration on some level to get work done. This can be helpful if you have 15 story ideas at once or harmful if you have a week like I did last week and don’t want to write at all.
Here are some ways to tap into your creativity on days you aren’t feeling like you have any left, all ideas gathered from deeply personal experience.
#1. Accept Where You Are
Don’t try to force it-at least not right away. Why do you feel so stuck? Have you been working a lot on creative projects recently? Give yourself a break and watch a movie, read a book, take a walk or engage in an activity you enjoy.
Accept that you don’t feel like creating and let that be okay for now.
#2. De-Clutter Your Brain
Many in the writing/creative community are familiar with Julia Cameron and the idea of Morning Pages. I suggest you do Morning Pages every morning-the idea is to write for 10 minutes about anything you want to when you first wake up-and take it to a new level when you feel stuck.
Find prompts on the Internet. Go to a writers group anyways. Write! Make art. Scrapbook. Whatever your medium is, do it. It doesn’t have to be good, and you don’t have to publish it.
The idea is to get used to creating when you don’t feel like it, and to let out all of the negative self-talk that’s stopping you from creating something amazing.
When you create without that inspirational spark that drives your ideas, there is a strong likelihood that negative beliefs about yourself and your creativity will emerge in your writing.
Getting these out on paper can help move you to a better place in your relationship with your creativity, and if you’re lucky, generate some ideas for future projects.
#3. Find Other Ways To Get Creative
Thinking outside the box is what makes us creative in the first place, right? We’re all grasping for pennies, hoping someone will notice our piece on 5 Ways To Live Without Coffee or think our art is good because we dared to venture outside the box of traditional careers.
If you’re stuck in your creative process, do something creative that you wouldn’t normally do.
For example:
- paint
- make a collage
- go for a walk
- make a flower arrangement
- do a yoga class
- meditate
- design the house you’d like to live in one day
- play an instrument
- write in a new genre
Pick something from this list you don’t already do and get to work taking your mind off of the block you’re experiencing. Enjoy creating something new without attachment to the outcome. After all, if you don’t knit, who is going to care what your first attempt at a scarf looks like?
No one.
#4: Wait, Productively
Don’t force yourself back into what you usually do(e.g. write one incredible blog post a day).
Wait(if you can afford to) to feel inspired again, or at least not burnt out on your craft.
As you wait, plan. Plan a time you’ll sit down every day to write once you return to your computer. So often we burn out because we ride a lightning bolt of inspiration until we can’t create anymore.
Having a set time to practice your craft forces you to create every day.
This will allow you to respect your time. This will push your creative boundaries on days you don’t feel like writing. This will allow you to put the bad drafts and bad articles into existence and make way for the good.
We all create art or pieces of writing that simply are not good, and that’s okay(I think). Two of our greatest learning tools are retrospective self-study and learning from the feedback of our readers and colleagues.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways
We all get stuck sometimes. Creativity needs to be nurtured and cultivated just like a garden. You can’t overwater or underwater this garden; it needs room to grow on its’ own and structured guidance from you.
Next time you feel stuck, take these 4 tools out for a spin:
- Accept the place you’re in. Don’t push yourself to be creative if you can’t possibly imagine creating right now. This would be overwatering your garden. Just sit in this place of stagnation for a little bit.
- Do a Brain Drain. Create anyways. When we feel stagnant and try to force ourselves to create when we don’t feel like we can, often the root of why we feel so stuck shows itself and we can address it.
- Get creative, out of the box style. Do something new that isn’t your usual form of expression. This should help get those creative juices flowing again.
- Wait and plan. Wait for the ideas to start flowing back in. Wait for something to inspire you. Plan a structured schedule for the future. Creativity is fostered by consistent practice of your craft. Creativity is also fostered by learning how to work through periods of stagnation.
Share any other ways you work through creative blocks in the comments below!
Thanks for reading! Support a creator here and join my email list here❤
You may also enjoy:
