Most of those who write, sometimes have a hard time when it comes to getting creative so as to give the best work possible. Being creative takes practice and time; it’s something which has to be nurtured.
Different people have different ways of getting their creative juices flowing, from wearing their lucky socks to sitting at their favorite spot at the local coffee house or even watching their favorite movie.
Here are 10 ways to get creativity for writing:
1. Plan In Advance
Being creative does not warrant us to skip out on planning how to get the task at hand done. Making a plan prior can help to avoid situations where your creativity fails you when you need it and you’ll be less inclined to pass judgment on any of your ideas once you’re finished.
You can make a plan by simply writing down a ‘blueprint’ of how you want your writing to go or you can brainstorm ideas and arrange them in a chronological order that you can follow later. This way, you’ll be sure to avoid creativity plateaus that can make your work harder.
Creativity won’t come when you want it, but planning ahead will go a long way in helping you be a little bit more creative.
2. Set Weird Rules
We are sometimes given guidelines to observe when doing our work; we are also encouraged to set some odd rules to help us spark our creativity. One of these rules can be a rewarding failure but punishing inaction. Stir up mind, come up with conflicting ideas, look at things or situations from as many different angles as possible, break the norm, don’t act contrary to what you hear, and change things up to make your mind have a new way of thinking.
Once you train your mind to think along these lines, you will find that creative ideas come easily to you.
3. Don’t Think Outside The Box
You have been encouraged many times to always think outside the box; well, it’s time we get inside the box.
Remember, if you never think outside the box, you will most likely not be creative. However, if you never enter the box, you will certainly be stupid. No offense, but interesting, right?
Things seem to be a little bit more complicated, don’t they? Instead of thinking entirely outside the box, which is no easy task, but also truncates the principles that we have found to work, think inside the box and nurture those new ways.
4. Don’t Worry About Being Original
You will never get ahead if you reject things for wanting to be truly original. Most things have already been done before, the trick isn’t coming up with new ways to do things but rather knowing what to ‘steal’ and make it your own and even more interesting.
You can take someone else’s idea and add some flavor to it, spice it up, and make it new.
Picasso said it best: “a good artist copies, a great artist steals”.
5. Use Side Projects To Stay Motivated
You are bound to encounter a creative block or become less motivated when you focus on one project at a time. The best way to counter this is by distracting yourself with smaller projects that keep you away from your main project. They help you be productive and stay creative.
Once you’re done with one of your minor projects, you will come back to your main project with fresh ideas and more enthusiasm.
6. Change Your Morning Routine
Most creative people tend to be smelly and unkempt; do you know the reason why? Don’t worry, we’re not about to advise you on how to ditch your hygiene. Why don't you try to shake your mornings up by waking up early? Yes, you heard it right, wake up early, beat the sun for once!
The golden hour for waking up in the morning is 5 am, but you can wake up as early as 4 or 3 am and as late as 6 am. Once you’re able to wake up between these hours, you will able to come up with a lot of creative ideas. Why is that? It’s normally quiet and peaceful during these hours, thus you’ll be able to easily come up with ideas.
This will go a long way in making you have more creative moments that you were not able to get in the shower.
7. Exercise
It’s always a good idea to have a change of scenery. A 30-minute exercise will do just the trick. Exercise will help you boost almost every part of your cognition, so exercise regularly.
For those of you who can’t afford to hit a gym, you can do some simple exercises in the comfort of your home. Sit ups, chin ups, press ups can all be done in your living room. For those that like the idea of been outdoors, you can engage in a little jogging.
8. Don’t Work Mid-Thought
In case you find out that some days you wake up and you don’t know the direction of your project, consider where you left off the last time. This will help you remember the direction. Instead of knowing breaking points, be aware of what will come next, this way you can build up some creative momentum.
9. Sleep More
Sleep is very important for your health; it’s also good for your creativity. A researcher found out that if you sleep on new ideas, you are likely to connect them to distantly related points. If you’re on fire, it's ok to burn the midnight oil once in a while, but don’t brush away the idea of getting enough sleep.
According to research, 8 hours of sleep is more than enough for one person. Go to bed early and wake up early, this way you will have a lot of energy and you will feel refreshed and burst with creativity when you wake up.
10. Know When To Rest
It’s not possible to be 100% creative all the time. We get burnt out sometimes and we need to relax. Once in a while take a break and blow off some steam. You can take a walk, go see a movie, catch up with friends over a cup of coffee, or do something that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. Whatever it may be, go ahead and do it.
Conclusion
Everyone has their own way of fostering creativity. The points discussed in this article are in no way comprehensive, and some ideas may not have made the list. We, however, hope that these will help you be more creative. Take some time off and relax, get some sleep, set some weird rules for yourself, and don’t forget to plan ahead!
About the Author
Jacob Chambless
I work as an educator at Jacksonville University. I'm always ready to help students, sharing my experience and tips on particular subjects.
Writing articles is my passion, I want to share my knowledge with other people. Now, I also write for https://prowriterscenter.com/
twitter: @jacob_chambless
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For guest article submissions at this website, kindly get in touch at orangy [dot] in @ Gmail [dot]com
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