 |
Top Ten Ways To Jump-Start Your Creativity
1 - Take A Tour of the Great Outdoors Consider a hike in the mountains, a stroll beside the river, a run along the beach, a jog through the park or a walk around the city. 2 - Soak Up Your Surroundings like a New Sponge Open your mind to the unknown and grasp the little details often overlooked in every day life. 3 - Read, Read, Read Read anything that interests you... Regardless of whether it´s related to writing or not! Think variety - from trashy romance novels and bad tabloids to The New York Times and Writers Digest. Find something different to read that you are really interested in and then actually take the time to READ it thoroughly. 4 - Escape Reality Temporarily Indulge yourself with rare pleasures - like a hot bubble bath, a professional massage, a visit to the beauty salon, a mini-shopping spree, a big bowl of REAL chocolate ice cream or just a little time ALONE! 5 - Play Like A Child Forget your responsibilities as a mature adult for a few hours! Remember something you loved to do as a kid and re-create the experience now. Or participate in whatever game/activity/adventure your child enjoys more than anything else. Roll up your sleeves, abandon your inhibitions, throw caution to the wind and play - really PLAY like you did when you were 10 or 20 years younger! 6 - Quit Procrastinating Finish that one particular project that you have been putting off for weeks.. Get it done now, so you can really focus all of your energy on new ideas and creative pursuits. If there's one thing that clouds your thinking almost daily, make it go away today! 7 - Just Write Write about anything. Write about the first thing that comes to mind - no matter how silly or irrelevant the subject may seem - put your feelings into words and get them down on paper as much paper as it takes! Keep writing about what you're thinking about until you can't think of any more words. 8 - Share Your Ideas, Opinions or Experiences with Someone Else Whether you have to call our mom or a close friend, talk about what's on our mind with somebody - almost anybody, who you know and trust. Interact with other writers on the web via e-mail discussion lists, open forums or critique groups. Get your thoughts out there. Bounce your ideas off of somebody else. Share your feelings with others who can relate to your topic. Ask for feedback from people you trust. 9 - Identify Issues that are Important to You Make a list of topics that you think matter in today's world. Jot down at least ten subjects and then explore ways to transform these ideas into articles. Example of Issues: Child Abuse, Internet Technology, Scams Online, World Peace, Prison Reform, Senior Care, Freedom of Speech, School Choices etc....) Look at the headlines in your daily newspaper, think of recent stories broadcast by National news programs like 20/20... 10 - Search The Web Look for articles and other resources related to creativity. Read stories written by other writers and/or try some creative writing exercises. Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
MORE RESOURCES: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Brainstorming Effectively BRAINSTORMING: The basic tool used in generating many possible solutions to a problem is brainstorming. To use the brainstorming process effectively requires following a prescribed set of rules very closely. The Sylvia Plath Pattern Of Creative Flow * Sylvia Plath teaches a valuable lesson about the Even Flow - opening the channels for creativity, regardless of this is for poetry or not.Sylvia Plath was a poet and that was her job and her life. Sharing Our Creative Work with Others In my "Roadblocks to Creativity" e-course, I ask the question:"What's your first thought if someone hesitates before giving you their opinion about your creative project?"One artist wrote: "When some one hesitates before giving their opinion of my work, I think it is going to be negative; I recently showed some work to my boss and her criticism was so harsh that I now won't show her anything, but the worse part is--it made me even more conscious of showing my work to others as well. She was going through some hard stuff at the time, so my timing was way off. Are You Inventive Enough to be an Inventor? Some Guidelines to Invention Success! Inventors make a ton of money when the invention is needed and when the process is done properly. There are different types of inventions. Creativity: The Key To Getting More Done In Less Time If your to-do list seems as long at the end of the day as it did at the start (or worse yet, longer!) then you could definitely use an injection of creativity in your work day.Here are five simple ways of using your creativity to improve the quality of your day:1) Stop banging your head against the wall -- A good chunk of the time people waste in a day is due to stressing over the same problems that face them day after day. What is Creativity? Here in England September represents the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn as well as the start of the new school year and the start of many new initiatives in business, life and lots more besides.When anyone is looking to make any kind of change in their life, often the approach they take needs to become attractive or appealing in order for them to maintain it and often it may not remain attractive or appealing for as long as we like. Tips on Breaking the Creative Block There's no question that creating anything is hard to do. Here are some tips if you find yourself creatively blocked. Turning Obstacles Into Blessings "Your capacity to be creatively alive in virtually all life circumstances will depend in large part upon the kind of attitude you choose for yourself."- Dr. Creativity Myths Sustained myths about Creativity and Innovation lead to confusion, bad practice and bad decision making. Some of them include:1. Telling It Like It Is (Or Can Be) When you hear, "tell me a story," does your mind suddenly go blank? Don't panic. The good news is, you're already a natural storyteller! Surprised? You shouldn't be. Creativity Management - Don't Write, Rewrite Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Becoming More Creative -- What We Can Learn From Disney When you think about the legacies Walt Disney left us, do talking mice and a multigizillion dollar company come to mind? Actually, those are only the products of his prodigious and rich creativity - dig deeper and you start to realize one of the most intriguing heritages Disney left was his processes.Disney was a creative and problem-solving genius. Our Limitless Quantum Reality Modern science tells us that on a sub-atomic level -- nothing is solid. That the entire universe is really one big web of vibrating "energy stew. Attraction: What We Attract With Our Creative Choices I used to be a jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, they were wonderful and I strived to sing like they did. Revenge of the Sith - Creativity and Structure The common belief is that lack of structure and randomness enhances creative output, whereas in truth, creativity is enhanced when it is organised, systematic and based on highly structured processes. This article will use Episode III of the Star Wars trilogy - Revenge of the Sith - to demonstrate that point. Theres A Light At The End Of Your Tunnel, Called Imagination! Imagine this. You've got this huge dream you just turned into an exciting accomplishment. A Quick Course in Creativity This quick course in creativity is designed to give you a platform to stand on as we look at the various ways you can handle home, social and workplace situations, job-search details and career-path decisions. Let's examine what creativity might look like. Art, Artists and Vocation "If you really want to upset your parents?go into the arts!"-Kurt VonnegutHow many times have people been told that "You can't make it as an artist."How many times when you've told someone that you are studying theater, dance, the visual arts, do people look at you and cringe; feel sorry for you, and feel that you and your family have wasted a great deal of money, and that you have wasted years of your life. Who Wants To Be A Creative Genius? Can You Learn Creativity?Have you ever watched Robin Williams do a stand-up routine? Could so much creativity and spontaneity result from a highly organized approach? Definitely. Wild and funny thoughts don't come from nowhere. Five Basic Steps to Benefit from Your Creativity The ability to exercise your creativity is even more important for you than you probably think. Why? First, your creativity tremendously contributes to your self-actualization, which is essential for you to feel satisfied with your life and be happy.
|