Creating Inspiration

Inspiration is great and I've gotten quite used to it happening pretty much constantly. However, many people find it a rare occurrence. Creative people like writers depend on it, becoming frustrated and stressed out when it doesn't show up on schedule, for whatever project they happen to be working on.

This is often compounded by reality. All those nagging things around the house or office that constantly need attention. Kids, cleaning, fixing, paying bills, etc, etc. The next thing you know, you're staring at a blank page and thinking about shoving a pencil through the side of your head in a vain effort to get something to come out.

Get Out

This is why I have always done most of my creative work sitting in a diner. Yes! My first rule for generating ideas has always been "get the hell out of the house." This is a habit I started in summer school, 50 odd years ago. But that's another story.

At your local diner, you get, for a nominal fee, a clean work area uncluttered by all the junk covering your desk at home or work. You have no obligations staring you in the face, and you have a cheery server who brings food and keeps your coffee cup filled. I met my first live in girlfriend this way.

College Towns

When possible, I like diners in or near college towns, where you get the added bonus of being surrounded by an energetic and creative atmosphere. Interacting with other people, chatting and exchanging ideas can also help get the inspiration flowing for a project. Ever notice how many coffee shops are around business centers? It's good for your ego too, as people walk by, looking and commenting on your work.

If this doesn't get things going, maybe the pencil in the side of the head is the way to go. But before you pull out the pencil sharpener, I have another plan.

As the title says, I call it Creative Inspiration, and I use this technique daily, not only to crank out new ideas, but to keep other projects moving along.

Tools

The first thing you'll need is an easy place to jot down and store ideas. I've always used cheap, six by nine, spiral-bound notebooks. A warning though. Do not use any notebook with perforated pages. It might sound handy, but over time, the pages will start tearing out and you will regret the convenience.

After 50+ years of scribbling, I've filled well over 100 of these cheap notebooks with enough project ideas to last several lifetimes. Contact me if you're really stuck for an idea, I've got lots.

For you folks more comfortable with typing, it's no problem nowadays to carry a thin tablet around, and many places now have a spot to plug-in while you sip coffee and create.

Blank Pages

My next rule for generating creative ideas, whether at home or away, is never and I mean never, start with a blank page. Never!

If you don't already have something lighting up inside your head, staring at a blank page is not going to flip the switch.

Have you ever drawn a blank trying to think of someone's name? Nothing happens until you come up with a trigger, a description of the person, a place, or even just one letter in their name. Then suddenly you explode with all kinds of names, descriptions, etc. Light bulbs going off all over the place. That's why I start with a page that already has something on it. It's a trigger. Even if it's just a doodle.

A Trigger

Always have a notebook, computer, or tablet with lots of stuff you've already got going. That is what you will be working with. That is your trigger.

Begin your day sitting down and rereading several things you already have, even things you thought were finished. As you flip through these, it will trigger your imagination. You'll visualize what's been written and once that happens, you'll see new images and soon you'll be adding to that story you thought was finished. You may not even get to your new project that day, you might spend the whole time finishing up or rewriting something you've already started.

In the background though, your brain is still working on that new project, the one that has nothing but blank pages, and at some point, light bulbs will start coming on. Maybe dim at first, but soon your creative engine will be cranked up to full speed, and you'll suddenly reach for a blank page with so much pouring out of your head, you'll barely be able to keep up.

Start every morning like this, and like me, you will have to self publish to keep up with the output.

KRASH