You hear the writing becoming stale, stilted. You begin talking about good days, bad days, taking it day by day. You hear yourself get worse, you feel the slump coming, you see the slow-motion crawl of the yet-again-struggle.
Dudes? We are writers. We are not aging athletes. We're not superstars watching our skills fail with grief and old age. We sit at a desk. Practice makes perfect. This is supposed to be easier. It's getting better all the time? Right?
Yet creativity is an animal, a living breathing creature that grows, chases, or hides. Creativity feels like something we can't control, yet we need it to work, to make a living, TO DO OUR JOB.
So how do we get creative? Let's get it.
1. Call yourself a rock star. Seriously. You can do no wrong. You rule the universe.
2. Read, read, read. Give yourself a one-person MFA. Read everything. All the time. No excuses. That hour you spend reading will always pay off.
3. Rest. At the end of the day (and never say this if you are not specifically referring to bed time!!! Aargh! Don't say, "At the end of the day!" Don't! Sigh.) When your day is finished, or even if it's not finished, but you're exhausted and it's dark outside, just go to sleep. You are not creative when you are an exhausted zombie.
4. Take a day off. Each week, no excuses, take one whole day off and do no work. Visit, rest, read, be. Don't even think about working. You need to practice turning off the creativity faucet so you can practice turning it back on.
5. Go somewhere. Go for a walk. Go to the coffee shop. Go to the woods. Get thee to a MegaBus! (So cheap! Seriously! Do it!) I don't care where you go. Just change your daily point of view.
6. Get high. (No, not like that. Drugs are bad, mkay?) Climb a mountain, go to the roof. Everything looks different from the top of the world.
7. Be creative in a different field. Paint. Cook. Draw. Do something outside of your comfort zone and stretch your horizons.
8. Stare at something. Just look at it. Study a thing until you see it in a different way. Write what you see.
9. Talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to. Ask questions. Be kind, but keep asking as long as they are willing to talk.
10. Ask someone how they do their job. Ask someone interesting, duh. (Single ladies, use this as an excuse to talk to some fire fighters, amirite?)
11. Change one thing. Shave half your hair. Buy crazy shoes. Wear something ridiculously red.
12. See how many days you can go without spending money. See what's in your pantry. See what's in your closet. Change the way you look at shopping and consuming.
13. Dance.
14. Movies with subtitles. Watch all of the movies with subtitles! I love these things. I always feel quite refined and smarty-pants every time I watch one.
15. Exercise outside. (Don't eat your way through a creative slump.) Get some air. Push yourself. Show YOU what you are capable of.
16. Say no. The next time someone asks you to bake, join, or donate, just say no. No excuses. No reasons. Practice with me. "No, thank you." Your no becomes powerful as you stop hemming and hawing your way through defending your own life.
17. Say yes. If you usually turn things down, dare to do something different! Once, I had a policy that I said YES! to every life opportunity, and who boy, was that fun year. You learning things by saying yes to life.
18. Listen to something new. Spend ten minutes looking for new music. No musical ruts, not for creative rock stars!
19. Argue with someone you can't convince. Try. Keep growing in your persuasive powers.
20. Watch this amazing Ted Talk!
Dudes? We are writers. We are not aging athletes. We're not superstars watching our skills fail with grief and old age. We sit at a desk. Practice makes perfect. This is supposed to be easier. It's getting better all the time? Right?
Yet creativity is an animal, a living breathing creature that grows, chases, or hides. Creativity feels like something we can't control, yet we need it to work, to make a living, TO DO OUR JOB.
So how do we get creative? Let's get it.
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HOW TO BE CREATIVE:
ROCK STAR ADVICE FROM AN ACTUAL ROCK STAR
(Me)
2. Read, read, read. Give yourself a one-person MFA. Read everything. All the time. No excuses. That hour you spend reading will always pay off.
3. Rest. At the end of the day (and never say this if you are not specifically referring to bed time!!! Aargh! Don't say, "At the end of the day!" Don't! Sigh.) When your day is finished, or even if it's not finished, but you're exhausted and it's dark outside, just go to sleep. You are not creative when you are an exhausted zombie.
4. Take a day off. Each week, no excuses, take one whole day off and do no work. Visit, rest, read, be. Don't even think about working. You need to practice turning off the creativity faucet so you can practice turning it back on.
5. Go somewhere. Go for a walk. Go to the coffee shop. Go to the woods. Get thee to a MegaBus! (So cheap! Seriously! Do it!) I don't care where you go. Just change your daily point of view.
6. Get high. (No, not like that. Drugs are bad, mkay?) Climb a mountain, go to the roof. Everything looks different from the top of the world.
 |
| credit |
7. Be creative in a different field. Paint. Cook. Draw. Do something outside of your comfort zone and stretch your horizons.
8. Stare at something. Just look at it. Study a thing until you see it in a different way. Write what you see.
9. Talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to. Ask questions. Be kind, but keep asking as long as they are willing to talk.
10. Ask someone how they do their job. Ask someone interesting, duh. (Single ladies, use this as an excuse to talk to some fire fighters, amirite?)
11. Change one thing. Shave half your hair. Buy crazy shoes. Wear something ridiculously red.
12. See how many days you can go without spending money. See what's in your pantry. See what's in your closet. Change the way you look at shopping and consuming.
13. Dance.
14. Movies with subtitles. Watch all of the movies with subtitles! I love these things. I always feel quite refined and smarty-pants every time I watch one.
15. Exercise outside. (Don't eat your way through a creative slump.) Get some air. Push yourself. Show YOU what you are capable of.
16. Say no. The next time someone asks you to bake, join, or donate, just say no. No excuses. No reasons. Practice with me. "No, thank you." Your no becomes powerful as you stop hemming and hawing your way through defending your own life.
17. Say yes. If you usually turn things down, dare to do something different! Once, I had a policy that I said YES! to every life opportunity, and who boy, was that fun year. You learning things by saying yes to life.
18. Listen to something new. Spend ten minutes looking for new music. No musical ruts, not for creative rock stars!
19. Argue with someone you can't convince. Try. Keep growing in your persuasive powers.
20. Watch this amazing Ted Talk!
21. Who is the most creative person you know? Ask them about their current project.
22. Turn off the electronics. You are a creator, not a consumer.
23. See something live. Music, plays, shows... mimes? Yeah. Mimes.
What do you do to stay creative?
