How I Like To Spill My Creative Juice

2 specific techniques I do to get my creative juice flowing.

Let’s face it.

Sometimes, our creativity tank is empty at times when we need it filled up.

Other times, ideas come to you, like being at the wrong place at the wrong time, because you end up forgetting it later if you don’t write it down.

I’ve read countless articles and blog posts about what others do to get creativity revved up.

Go for a walk. Write down bad ideas. Stretch. Talk to someone. Step away. Play a game. I can go on all day.

Everybody is different, and there is no wrong exercise.

It took me a while to find what works for me.

I remember having that ‘Aha’ moment.

Before I get down to explaining my 2 specific back-to-back techniques, I want to tell a short story.

The actual short story that gave me that ‘Aha’ moment.

One day, I was bored and wanted to do something different.

I challenged myself to write a short story on just one loose-leaf paper. (I actually used both sides.)

The rules were simple:

• Don’t think about it too hard.
• Who cares if anybody ever reads it?
• It didn’t have to be good.
• Just fit a short story on one page.

The short story.

The Son and the Sun.

“There was a little boy who had a strong connection with the Sun. Every morning, before the Sun started to rise, he would wake up exactly half an hour before the Sun started to rise. He would go outside, sit on the ground, and wait until the Sun started rising. He lived in a location where the view of the Sun Rise was perfect. As the Sun started rising, he would be amazed by the different colors the Sun would paint the clouds in the sky. He would wait until the top part of the Sun started peaking, and he would wave at the Sun like friends waving to each other. He would wait until the sun was fully showing and stand in a spot where the sun’s rays would shine. He would close his eyes and soak in the sun’s rays. He believed the Sun gave him powers. He would thank the Sun, wave goodbye, and walk back into his house. One day, the father of the little boy noticed through the window what he was doing and asked him “Son, what were you doing outside so early in the morning?” The little boy smiled and said “Greeting the Sun, Daddy” and continued doing what he was doing. The father was both confused and enlightened by his response. The next morning, the father watched his son do the same thing as the previous morning. The father, curious about what his wife thought about it, said, “Honey, do you know what our son was doing this morning?” She responded, “Sure he was most likely greeting the Sun outside.” He was surprised she knew about it. “You know about it, How long has he been doing this?” “Since he was able to walk and wave.” she said. The father, who never noticed, asked, “Why does he do that?” “Because the Sun gives him powers.” She said. The father was so intrigued that he decided to join him the next morning. Without questioning him, he would do what his son told him to do. When it came to the part of soaking up the sun’s rays, the father closed his eyes and stood next to his son. After a few minutes, the father realized something amazing was happening…”

Before I finish, this is the part where I explain my 2 techniques on how I get my creativity going for anything.

• I start out writing a very short story (with the rules I explained above).
• I purposely DO NOT finish the short story.
• I sleep on it.
• The next day, I write the ending.

When I do this, my creativity goes through the roof.

The creative juice literally overflows into the other projects I’m working on as well.

The only reason I had this glorious moment was because I couldn’t figure out how to end the story.

I broke my own rules by overthinking it. (And going past one page.)

Then I came across an article from two separate studies done about the benefits of “sleeping on it” before making a tough decision.

Of course, this wasn’t a tough decision I had to make, but I just wanted to share this heart-felt story I came up with on the spot.

And this is how it ends …

…The entire time, the father was paralyzed and bound to a wheelchair. But he found himself standing next to his son. The son thanked the Sun, waved goodbye, and started walking back to the house. Halfway, he looked back and said, “Come on, Daddy, it’s over.” The Father couldn’t believe what was happening. He shed some tears, waved goodbye to the Sun, and started walking back into the house with his son, leaving the wheelchair behind. He believed The Sun gave him powers.”

I hope you enjoyed the story more than the techniques.

If it works for you, share with me your short story.