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1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 6 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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Not feeling inspired? Try these ideas to get you going...

 

As much as I love creative writing, I sometimes don't give myself enough time to work on it. That means that the time I do have needs to be productive as possible.

But, if I only have thirty minutes to work on a poem or story, I can't afford to spend 25 of it trying to come up with an idea to work with.

I use some of these tips to get creative writing ideas.
 


For more writing tips visit my blog.

Keep a Creative Writing Idea File 

Anybody who works on their creative writing will benefit from having an idea file on the computer or a notebook for that purpose.

Carry a small pocket-sized notebook around with you. Then when an idea strikes you will have a place to write it down. Transfer it to your larger notebook.

That way when you sit down to write, you just pick the idea you want to work with.

You can keep track of all your ideas this way.

Act Like a Kid to Stimulate Creativity 




When I feel stopped up creatively, I think about what I liked to do as a kid. I carried around this canvas bag filled with paper, crayons, and other art supplies.

My bag was well stocked with idea books and coloring pages. I would sit for hours looking through the contents of that bag and doing some of the activities contained within it.

I still do that. I like to visit CrayolaStore.com
not only to shop for supplies and art kits, but to also use their free resources. You can print out coloring pages and get craft ideas for free.

Of course, I could go to other craft stores and buy craft kits that are a little more complicated. But I like the simplicities of the products that are designed for kids.

I am looking to stimulate creativity and get ideas for my creative writing, not paint a masterpiece.

Keep a notebook nearby - the ideas will flow naturally once you do this!

In the Present - A Writing Exercise 

Sometimes, a good writing exercise is all I need to get going and stimulate creativity.

My favorite one lasts ten minutes. I call it the "in the present" exercise.

Here's what you do:
  1. Find an inspiring place to sit while doing this exercise. It could be a busy cafe, a nature setting, your own kitchen, etc.
  2. Set your timer for ten minutes.
  3. For the duration of those ten minutes, write about what is going on in the present moment.

    Ex. "I hear my fingers tapping on the keys. A baby cries. There's a bee in the room that keeps flying into the window, buzzing as it hits, Perhaps damaging its wings."
  4. When the time is up, read what you wrote aloud. This is a great exercise to do that will help you write descriptions. And, the images that come up in the exercise may inspire some more ideas.

Try Writing a Novel Instead 

If the main thing that is holding you back from creative writing is the fact that you have a hard time coming up with ideas, maybe you should just choose one idea and turn that into a novel?

Writing a novel is more time consuming, but you only need to come up with one idea. And if you work on it every day for 30-60 minutes, you could have your novel written in about a year.

This saves you from having to come up with idea after idea. Plus, some people are better at writing novels than short stories. Perhaps you are one of them.

Books about Creativity 

Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life

Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

Pick a Selfish Project 

If I spend all of my time writing for money, I get burned out.

To solve that problem, I have at least one selfish project going at any one time.

Currently, my selfish project is a blog I started at tumblr called Be Creative. I write about my creative journey and include quotes, photographs, websites, and other musings that inspire me.

Words in a Jar 

I like to write random words on slips of paper and fold them up. When I'm not feeling inspired, I pick a word or two, set my timer for ten minutes, and do a free-form exercise based on those words.

If I were to put together my "words in a jar" now, these are the words I'd put. You can use these if you want.

Purple
Business
Skyscraper
Dandelion
Daffodil
Sky
Blue
Pasta
Mama
Bambino
Italian
Violin
Car
Yellow
Hamburgers
Grill
Hands
Neighbors
Red
Wine

Creativity Resources 

Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life

Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 01/09/2009) Buy Now

What do you think? 

SelfishBeat wrote...

Dear kohuether,

I personally liked this lens and I had it reviewed on my 'Lens of the Week':
http://www.squidoo.com/lensreview

Great Job

ReplyPosted March 28, 2008

kohuether wrote...

Thank you Kimberly for the advice. :) That's a good idea!

ReplyPosted August 24, 2007

KimberlyDawnWells wrote...

Great start! You could even create a lens for each idea and give readers whole lists of products and tips to try.

ReplyPosted August 20, 2007

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kohuether

About kohuether

I love creative writing, especially flash fiction and poetry. My work has appeared in Brady Magazine, Pedestal Magazine, Wild City Times, and The Pebble Lake Review.

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