Creativity is a muscle, and like any muscle, it needs to be strengthened over time. In the case of creativity, however, weekly trips to the gym won’t cut it. There are several signs that will show that you need a creativity boost. No matter whether you’re a writer, a painter, or a composer, if you find yourself staring at a blank page, or a canvas, you’re blocked. But that’s not the only thing – you are just as blocked if you write every day and find your story isn’t really going anywhere, or, if you’ve penned a plot before writing, that your characters tend to take over your story, and not in a way that helps you move the story forward. Whenever you feel that your creativity has reached a plateau, it means you need to take a step back and try out one of the creativity boosters below.
1. Read something different
Or, if you’re not an avid reader, just read something. Reading makes us think, but if you’re reading in the same genre, after a while, it will not only become boring, it might stifle your creative side. Switch the genre, or read poetry, and it will feel like taking a breath of fresh air. Reading will also allow you a certain escape from reality, and to see the world through a different pair of eyes, and even solve a puzzle, if you’ve chosen a mystery book.
2. Escape your comfort zone
Branch out in different writing styles, genres, points of view. If you usually write in first person point of view, try writing in third person, or choose a random secondary character from your own works, and write something from their point of view. What you must remember is that you’re writing for fun, to remind yourself why you wanted to write in the first place, because when you’re blocked, the act of writing might feel like a chore.
3. Walking
Take a short walk, 20 to 30 minutes at most, and just let your mind drift. Take in your surroundings, and try to make up a story about it, or just listen to the sounds, feel the wind in your face, or the heat of the sun. Use your senses to endorse yourself in the moment, clear your head. You should take a short walk always after an extended period of creativity – to clear your head and rest your mind.
4. Different activities
Pick up a different creative activity at least once a week – something you don’t usually do. For example, cook a meal you haven’t cooked before, draw a portrait, paint that white wall red or another fun color, or add accessories to your favorite t-shirt or jeans, or simply dance. The goal of this exercise is to test your abilities, and get new ideas. And you are sure to get new ideas when it comes to an activity you haven’t done that often – which will help you stretch your creative muscles, and have a lot of fun in the process.
5. Daily nurture
The most important thing to remember, when it comes to increasing creativity, is to do at least one creative exercise, or do something creative, at least once per day. No, your daily writing doesn’t count here, unless you’re fine with your creativity reaching a plateau. The goal of the exercises is to be creative a little bit every day, to stretch your creative muscles, until it becomes second nature to do these activities. This is why the activities mentioned above will work really well to help defeat writer’s block, because all of them are generally things you will do for fun. They generate good energy, and will you put in a good mood. Feeling good is crucial when it comes to enjoying the writing process, because it will increase the quality of your writing, and will ensure that you write more than before.
Image credit: Amanda Hirsch on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
Georgina Roy wants to live in a world filled with magic. As an art student, she’s moonlighting as a writer and is content to fill notebooks and sketchbooks with magical creatures and amazing new worlds. When she is not at school, or scribbling away in a notebook, you can usually find her curled up, reading a good urban fantasy novel, or writing on her laptop, trying to create her own.