creativity

Three steps to becoming more creative

CreativityMany people believe creativity is a trait you're born with. It's a gift. You either have it or you don't.

This is simply not true.

Each of us is creative. It's our natural state of being. As children, we don't hesitate to use our imagination in every aspect of life. We welcome creativity and embrace it as an integral part of who we are.

Unfortunately, too many of us stifle that sense of wonder and suppress our imaginations as we grow into adulthood. Caught up in the daily grind, we forget what it was like to be creative.

Even writers suffer from this problem on occasion. We get into a slump and begin to suspect we're not as creative as we once thought.

Today, I'm going to give you three simple steps for boosting your creativity. Follow these steps and you'll soon discover how easy it is to embrace your creative nature.

Step 1

Give yourself permission to be creative. Turn off the inner voice that says "I'm not a creative person."

This sounds like a simple thing to do, but it's the most challenging step. With creativity, mindset is everything. How you talk to yourself about being creative is nine tenths of the game. Your inner dialogue matters. From now on, make an effort to only allow thoughts that affirm your status as a creative individual.

Recognize creativity in everyday activities. Realize your creative nature is present at all times, not just when you're writing.

Step 2

Respect your muse. When you get an idea, don't immediately dismiss it or tell yourself "This idea stinks. Nobody is going to want to read this." If you tell yourself over and over again that your ideas stink, your muse will decide you don't appreciate its input. It will go into hibernation and the new ideas will stop coming.

Does this mean you have to pursue every story idea that pops into your head? No. It means you accept each idea as something worth considering.

Jot down every idea in your notebook or journal, or create an idea file on your computer and add a few notes about any new ideas that come to mind. I have a Word document named "Story Ideas" on my computer. Whenever I get a new idea, I open the file and add the details. I don't worry about whether the idea seems crazy or not. I can worry about that later when I'm deciding which ideas would make great stories. I also carry a pocket-sized notebook with me at all times for making notes about new story ideas, characters, scenes, or dialogue.

Step 3

Explore new situations. Eat something you've never eaten before. Visit new places. Listen to music from artists you're never heard of.

Get outside your comfort zone. Do things you wouldn't normally do. Go for a walk in the rain. Try an activity that intimidates you.

Feed your mind. Every new experience will nourish your creative soul.

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How to Create Realistic Characters With Depth

Clustering is a simple brainstorming method you can use in a variety of ways. Its biggest benefit is that it helps you push past your analytical mind and reach into your subconscious mind for ideas that resonate on a deeper level. A single clustering session can produce dozens of great ideas.

In The New Diary, where I first encountered the technique a few years ago, author Tristine Rainer presents clustering as a journaling method for personal transformation. In the How To Think Sideways course, we used clustering to explore ourselves via a process that generated a wealth of material to mine later for story ideas.

The potential applications for clustering are numerous, but today I'm going to describe how I've been using the technique to develop realistic characters with depth. [click to read more]

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Six Techniques to Help Writers Overcome Procrastination

I've come to the conclusion I truly deserve to be crowned Queen of Procrastination. Procrastination is a big kingdom — especially with so many writers taking up residence there so often — so Queen of Procrastination is a title one would expect me to be proud of, yet somehow I don't feel quite as proud as I should. Instead, I'm burdened with the weight of the lurking feeling of guilt one gets after living in Procrastination far too long, which brings me to the topic of this entry: how to move away from Procrastination and into the much more rewarding place I like to call the Writing Zone.

The Writing Zone is a beautiful, magical place. It fills us with a vibrant excitement that gets our blood pumping and our skin tingling. It puts us on a high unlike any other. It's a powerfully addictive drug, only without all the messiness and legal problems.

Think back to the last time you wrote an incredible scene, a scene that just flowed from your mind and through your fingers onto the page. Think of how [click to read more]

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