Novelist and poet William Plomer once said, “Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” For many, this power can be intoxicating, producing the desire to craft creation upon creation, never ceasing in the quest. This presents a problem, however, when it starts to feel like the well of creativity has dried up.
Nearly every creative person will experience this terrifying occurrence. If you fancy yourself creative and find yourself creatively blocked, fear not. You can do some simple things to boost your creativity and unblock it, replenishing your well and enabling yourself to feel the satisfaction of creating something unique.
Explore The Dark
Sometimes, all it takes to get your creative juices flowing again is to experience the world from a different perspective. Force yourself to explore the world in a fashion that differs substantially from your usual mode by immersing yourself in cool and calming darkness. Without your oft-relied-upon sense of sight, you will be forced to explore your world with your other senses. As you sit in the dark, allow your mind to wander. When you find a thought that appeals to you, grasp onto it and explore it more deeply.
Talk It Out
If you’re like many creative thinkers, you’ve tested the patience of your friends more than once with ramblings about not-quite-hatched ideas that bang about in your head. While you don’t want to lose all of your friends in your quest to reclaim your creativity from this creative block, it can be helpful to talk through your thoughts in front of an audience that won’t interrupt. Particularly if you have a creative friend or two, reach out to them and ask them to be your sounding board, promising, of course, that you will return the favor at a later date.
Lay Down Some Rules
Many creative people will argue that they simply can’t create when confined. While this is true for some, it’s far from accurate for others. Dr. Seuss wrote one of his most famous works, “Green Eggs & Ham,” when he bet an acquaintance that he could produce a story using fewer than 50 words. Sometimes, setting down some rules to govern your creative process forces you to think in a different fashion, which may be all you need to get out of your creative block.
Write Down Everything
J.K. Rowling famously stated that Harry Potter wandered into her head, fully formed, on a train ride. Imagine if she hadn’t taken note of this little mind invader? As you strive to reconnect with your inner creative, write down anything and everything that pops into your head. Keep these notes and look back at them a day or week later. Evaluate their merits with fresh eyes and further explore the ones that seem worthy.
Read Something
Regardless of your creative medium of choice, reading can help you produce your masterwork more successfully. Sit down with a good book or even a good magazine if you aren’t quite so ambitious. Block out the world around you, letting the words flow over you and the scene develop in your head. Not only will this exercise likely be highly relaxing, which may help you create, it will also exercise your brain, building the neuropathways on which your original ideas will later travel.
Listen To Some Music
When it came time for Albert Einstein to get creative in his exploration of the universe, he turned to Mozart. While this composer’s work may not be best for all creatives, listening to music of some type, particularly classical, can be immensely helpful in freeing the mind and promoting creative thinking. Even if your last encounter with classical music was a forced one in high school music appreciation class, the benefits of finding yourself a classical Internet radio station could make it worth it for you to reacquaint yourself with this art form.
