#finding creativity

[witandfancy]

Finding Creativity: I Want to, so Now What? | Wit & Fancy

[witandfancy]

Finding Creativity: It All Starts Somewhere (Might As Well Be Here & Now) | Wit & Fancy

[artisticwarfare]

How to Find Inspiration

How to Find Inspiration

Inspiration is all around us, but there are times that are hard to find it. The difference between finding inspiration and being creative, or just thinking the opposite is all in your own personal routine. In this episode we talk about how to find inspiration when you need it.

Listen to the episode here:

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[artsimply]

Let's Get Those Creative Juices Going!

If any of you guys are like me, a little stress can be a kick in the butt to help get your creative juices flowing and finish a project. A lot of stress, however, can make all of that shut down and make you feel as if you’ve never had an original idea in your life. Personally, I’m starting to reach that point. Naturally, instead of working on any of my projects, I decided to procrastinate and make a list of ways to get your creativity going. I’m hoping this comes in handy for a future me and also you guys!

Create An Inspiration File. This is something you can do even when you’re not stressed! It can be something as simple as a folder on your desktop with photos of work you like to a physical notebook filled with images, thoughts, and the written words of others. Not only is it fun to look at your favorite or most inspirational artists, but looking back at the file can really help you remember why you do the work you do in the first place. In other words, it can connect you to your “artistic roots” and really get your ideas going. It’s never too late to start an inspiration file! Already have an inspiration file? Great! Take time to add a new thing or two to it. Who knows, this might just be the kick you need!

Try Something Different. Are you a writer? How about you try doodling? Or if you’re the opposite, how about trying a stream of consciousness writing. It doesn’t matter if you can only draw stick figures or if you’re not the next Hemmingway. It doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, no one has to see it except you! Stretching your mind in ways its not used to might just be the thing you need to kick start some new ideas.

Experiment. Going along with the first two ideas, is there an artist you really like or find really inspirational? Why not try copying their style for awhile? Thinking like someone else will only help stretch your mind. Not only that, but figuring out how you can emulate someone’s style while creating your own original work is a creative feat in itself. Double points if it’s an artist that works in a medium different from your own.

Stay Motivated. Maybe you’re having issues trying to think of a concept for your final studio shoot, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a creative photographer! Keep yourself distracted with side projects. Are the leaves beautiful? Great! Go take photographs of those. It might not necessarily be your big project, but it’s a way to take a break from your main stresser while encouraging your creative juices to flow. You’ll be happier creating work you like and you will come back to the new project with a better mindset. Try Googling quick craft projects if you’re stuck without an idea.

Do Something Else. If all else fails, there’s no shame in taking a step back! Forcing yourself to get creative isn’t going to help anything. In fact, it’ll probably just stress you out even more! If nothing above worked or you think you’re beyond the point of any of these suggestions, then take a break from it. Go for a walk, talk to a friend, watch a movie, and completely let your mind wander from your stress-causing project. Ideas can come even when you’re not looking for them. But don’t forget to write those ideas down!

Remember, not every new idea is going to be the best one you’ve ever had, but ideas have a way of snowballing. You only need one to get that creativity going!

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ― Maya Angelou

[creativesomething]

Seven steps to creative breakthroughs

Gather a lot of varied experiences. Read a lot of books, travel, talk to strangers, anything to open your mind to new ideas and ways of thinking.

Create a frame of topic. Addressing questions like: what is it you're trying to do, and where should your focus be?

Ask a lot of questions. Who, what, where, when, why, how, repeat. What if this was like that? Where would this look out of place? Who would think this was brilliant? When will this not be true? You get the idea.

Use your imagination to answer the questions. How would a laptop work if it were a hat? Who from 1,000 years ago would have read this? What would this look like if it were 10,000x time bigger (or smaller)?

Write down or draw out your ideas. Do something to make the ideas more than just intangible thoughts. Writing them down is powerful, but so is vocally recording them or drawing them.

Filter the ideas down. Look (or listen) through your list of ideas and filter out the ones that are utterly useless or too far-fetched. Keep them around though, you never know when they will inspire something new.

Act! Now figure out the next step. Even if the idea seems radical, there's always a way to move forward.

This is just one approach, but it works.

[creativesomething]

Seeking inspiration in all the wrong places.

“To be original, seek your inspiration from unexpected sources.” – Paul Arden in his amazing book It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be. If you were a beginning painter, where would you look for inspiration? If you're anything like many painters who are just starting out, you would look to historically famous paintings, or contemporary works that are getting a lot of attention. You'd talk to successful painters and follow blogs about painting trends. This type of inspiration seeking is bad for creativity. We tend to search for inspiration in this way because it's beneficial from an evolutionary standpoint. When we're young we look to others to see how we should behave; what to eat and what not to eat, where to walk and where to avoid. We are led to believe that the best way to learn something is to mimic something else. What happens as a result of this mode of thinking is artists all look to art for inspiration, musicians to other musicians, business minded creatives look to see what other businesses are doing. It makes you wonder: where does original thought come into play? The point is that original paintings, music, business ideas, all stem from outside their respective fields. The absolute best ideas – the thoughts that revolutionize the cellphone industry or shatter attendance records for theatrical plays – come from other areas of life. It's only when we look at a game of baseball as a source of inspiration for a painting that we begin to explore truly creative ideas. When we see a lightbulb as a source of inspiration for architectural design, when a flock of birds in the sky invokes an idea for a new way to commute, or when we think of writing every time we hear a hammer, that's when we find the best, most original ideas. Do what very few people with your talents does when seeking inspiration: go to where you least expect to find it. Original photo via Flickr.

[creativesomething]

Finding creativity in everyday life.

Speeding cars. Pointless meetings. Ignorant tech support. Late nights clashing with early mornings.

Not the life much of us envisioned we would live when we were younger, right? Yet, here we are, and, no matter how many cups of coffee you have in the morning, the world is rapidly becoming more and more overwhelming.

So, between the projects building up at work or school, the addicting television programs, the problems with family or friends, and everything else that seems to pile up day after day, how can anyone find any creative inspiration, let alone creative motivation?

You can find creativity in your busy life simply by letting it all go for a while. Not worrying about things going on in your life, and taking just a few minutes to relax can fuel your creativity to unfounded levels.

Because we live in such a complicated, fast-paced world, creativity is often hindered by the time constraints of others, as well as our own. So is it really any surprise that the best way to find creative inspiration and motivation in everyday life is to let everything go for a bit, just getting away from all of the "noise" around us?

It shouldn't come as a big surprise. If you haven't noticed already, the best creative inspirations strike when they are least expected. For example, when you cram to finish a project of any type, the resulting product will almost always be less than what you expected it to be. But when you have a project that has no real time restraints, you'll discover that inspiration will often strike and what you come up with will be much better than you could have ever imagined.

Creativity works best when it is not sought after. The best way to be inspired, or get motivated, is to let creativity flow to you naturally. And the best way to let creativity come to you naturally is to take a break and just let things go for a bit.

To let things go, you need to stop whatever it is you are doing, find a nice, quiet place where you won't be bothered, turn off your cellphone, sit down, and stop thinking about everything that has been on your mind, just for five minutes. Five minutes without thinking about your job, without thinking about school, not worrying about family or friends. Take five minutes and just relax.

I have found from experience that restrooms are the best place to get away from the "noise" of everyday life. You won't be bothered, and if your boss - or anyone else - begins to wonder where you've gone to, you can just feed them the "I wasn't feeling well" line. Of course, the smell might distract you from relaxing, but it's better than being distracted by everything else. Trust me on this one.

So head off to the nearest restroom and do your best to relax. Creative inspiration may not hit you immediately, but if you take just five minutes out of everyday to relax and let your mind wander aimlessly, you'll find that creative inspiration won't just hit you eventually, you'll naturally begin to find ways to fuel your creativity without taking a break from everyday life.

Not only can you easily find creativity by getting away from routine daily thoughts, when you look at the grand scheme of things, 5 minutes out of everyday isn't that much time. If you take five minutes out of everyday for the next year just to relax and let your mind wander in search of creativity, you'll still have 524,123 minutes left of the year to worry about everything else in your life.

So quit reading blogs online, and go get creative; but before you do, don't forget to subscribe to Creative Something to get more creative articles like this one, for free.