8 Ways to Encourage Creative Ideas

Creativity isn’t so much a matter of finding ideas as it is one of learning to become receptive to them. Creative ideas are all around you. It’s up to you to prepare your mind to see them.

The following eight ways will help you do just that. Practicing one or several of them will ensure that creative ideas begin to flow and stay flowing.

1. Have a fresh mind. Nothing blocks creative thinking like a mind clogged with all sorts of other stuff. Everyday life fills your mind with everything from trivial items, like what to make for dinner, to stress over finding a healthcare provider before the deadline. To get creative ideas to flow, you first have to clear your mind of all extraneous thoughts. That doesn’t mean you should forget them, only that you should put them on the back burner.

2. Meditate. An easy way to clear your mind is to meditate. No, you don’t have to seek out the service of a Indian guru. But you do have to find a quite spot where you can be alone with your thoughts. Go sit in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor and your arms at your sides. Close your eyes, take a deep breath through your nose and hold it for four counts. Then let it out slowly through your mouth while you count back from 10. When you reach 1, let your entire body relax. Imagine yourself in a beautiful place. Let your mind wander. Do this for about 20 minutes a day and soon you’ll find yourself overloaded with creative ideas.

3. Exercise your body. Nothing refreshes your mind like physical exercise. No, you don’t have to join a gym. But a brisk walk will do wonders. While walking, breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth. This will increase the flow of oxygen to your blood and your brain.
You don’t have to be a long-distance walker—even a half mile will do. But do it regularly.

4. Find an activity that unblocks your creativity. To unblock your creativity and get those juices flowing, find an activity that you enjoy. It has to be something that will encourage your imagination—something besides writing. Perhaps you need to reorganize your storage spaces or plan a new kitchen. Whatever you choose, make sure it requires you to think.

5. Try a change of scene. While some writers think that if they go off in the woods that ideas will come to them and they’ll be able to finish that novel that’s nagging to come to life. But honestly, the same thing can happen working on your laptop while sitting at your kitchen table. However, once in a while it’s good to get away. No, you don’t have to book a flight to a far-off island. But you can get away for a weekend to some place different—some place that will stimulate your mind and inspire creative ideas. This may be a trip down a coal mine to learn how miners endured long, hard days below ground, or it may be a trip to a big city to immerse yourself in its cultural sights. Wherever your go and whatever you do will spark bring you back home refreshed and full of creative ideas.

6. Experience new things. Along with getting away, you may want to try new things. If you’ve never flown before, book a flight. Or perhaps take skiing or mountain-climbing lessons. If adventure isn’t your bag, then try something that’s more to your liking, such as trying new foods or experiencing a new, intense culture.

7. Seek out creative people. Nothing brings out your creative side like hanging out with other creative people. See if there’s any sort of creative/artistic group in your area that you can join. Take classes—either writing or other artistic subjects. Meet with your classmates for coffee to discuss the class and the subject, and ask them about what they’re doing creatively at the moment. Collaborate with another creative writer on a project. The two of you will encourage each others' creativity thought process.

8. Know when to stop. Above all, no when to stop. Nothing ruins creative flow like going on a binge. Limit the time you pursue creative ideas. The more time you spend at one sitting working on a project, the more limited your creative thought will be. Periodically give your mind a rest by working on something else or even doing household chores. Because while you’re washing last night’s dishes, your subconscious mind will be hard at work on your next batch of creative ideas.

Developing Your Creativity

Now that you’ve unlocked your creativity, it’s time to develop it. Everyone is creative—even if you don’t think you are. You use creative thought every day. Some people use it a lot, others not so much. However, many writers become slaves to inspiration. They sit around waiting for the light bulb to go on. But you can do more than wait around. You can make sure the light bulb goes on by practicing some basic mind-developing techniques.

Sci-Fi author Ray Bradbury once said, “The more you put into your head, the more you get out.” Author David Ritz, a virtual writing machine with seven books out this year alone, is a voracious reader. He puts a lot of information into his head on many different subjects.  It’s only natural that a lot will eventually spill out in his writing.

But before you can develop your creativity, you must find time to be creative and let your creativity flow. In today’s busy world, this isn’t always easy. Look at your weekly schedule and see if you can find an hour that you can devote to creative pursuits. Once you start, you’ll look forward to that time. Eventually, your mind will think more creatively the rest of the week.

The creative mind knows no age limit or I.Q. The way you direct your thoughts is more important than knowledge, itself.  Your imagination is directly related to the kind of person you are.

To successfully develop a creative mind, you’ll need a few things. The first is solitude, especially in the beginning. You can’t afford to be distracted. The second is patience—it won’t come all at once but will take time to develop. And the third is intuition. Most people think only women have this ability, but men do, too.
               
You may be a creative person already but just don’t know it. Do you possess a sense of curiosity?
Do you perceive the world differently? Do you persevere when things get tough? Do you have a heightened awareness? Do you have ambition? And above all, are you enthusiastic? If you answered yes to even a few of these questions, then you’re a latent creative person. All you have to do is wake up that latent creativity. But how?

There are some things you can do to stimulate your creative mind. One is to develop a special interest. People used to call this a hobby. This is something that you enjoy doing, but it also fosters creative thinking. You’ll be developing your creative mind while doing something you enjoy.    This includes all types of subject areas, from learning to play an instrument to gardening, collecting various items, painting—you name it.

Another way to light a spark to your creativity is to spend some time with another creative person. This may be someone you already know or perhaps someone that you haven’t met yet. You’ll know that the person is creative by how they talk about the world around them. And it’s not just artistic people that are creative. What makes a person creative is how they solve problems. Scientists and inventors are very creative people.

And from now on, whenever you meet someone for the first time, ask them about themselves before you tell them about yourself.

Reading is a part of writing. It’s how you take in information. But just reading anything won’t do. To develop your creative mind, you need to read stimulating material, such as non-fiction or biographies. While fiction may be good for entertainment, they do little to stimulate your mind, no matter how well they’re written. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read a novel or short story once in a while.

To get yourself on the road to developing a creative mind, start a pet project. This could be designing a new garden or redecorating a room in your home. Or perhaps you need more storage and you need to design units that meet your specific needs. Or maybe you’d rather do something artistic like create a photo essay or learn new photo techniques. Whatever it is, it’s bound to stimulate—as Agatha Christie’s famous character Hercule Poirot says—your “little gray cells.”

   

Keep Mind and Body in Balance

Writing is a very demanding profession. At times—especially when payment isn’t forthcoming or problems arise with editors—it can be extremely stressful. And stress can play havoc on your health and your writing. It’s a vicious cycle.

The impression most people have of writers is that words just spill forth with little effort—that ideas just appear. But for most writers, this can’t be farther from the truth. Most people, albeit most writers, believe writing to be entirely a mental process. But to make sure your mind is in good shape to write, you must make sure your body is also in good shape.

No, you don’t have to go to the gym every day, but regular exercise is one way to make sure your mind is sharp. And if your mind is sharp, then your writing will improve.

Consider playing a sport. Swim during the summer. Ski, especially cross country skiing, in the winter. Play tennis or basketball. Whichever sport you decide on, make sure it’s one that offers opportunity for rather vigorous exercise. And while playing golf will get you outdoors, the leisurely walking—and for many riding—around the course won’t do it. Bicycling would be better. But if you choose to cycle on level ground and cruise along most of the time, you won’t get very much exercise. Even a walk around your neighborhood each day will invigorate your writing.

There’s a definite connection between the moving body and the thinking mind.

But exercise alone isn’t enough. You must also make sure that your diet offers you the energy that you’ll need. A balanced diet, enhanced by plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole grains, will serve you well. Stay away from trendy foods and especially processed foods.

Sugars provide energy, but too much sugar provides you with a false sense of energy. Sure, you’ll get a sugar high, but that won’t stay with you. And to maintain your mental abilities throughout the day as you write, you need foods that will give you energy that stays with you. The same can be said for caffeine. The more caffeine you take in, the less sharp your mind will be. Above all, avoid processed snack foods like chips and such. Stick with natural snack foods like fruits and nuts.

Some writers get out and do things that contribute to their writing. Ernest Hemingway went out into the world and actively participated in life. While he may have gone a bit overboard—no one says you have to go fight the bulls—he experienced life to the fullest and then wrote about it. Everything he did influenced his writing in some way. On one hand it may have been the experience, itself, while on the other it may have been details that he then included in his stories.

It’s easy to work continuously throughout the day. Once you get going, you may not realize that you’re doing nothing but sitting at your computer. Make time to get up and move. Go outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. Go for a walk. You’ll be glad you did.

Writing as Routine

Do you sit around waiting for the writing muse to strike? Do you have to go to some exotic place to get inspired to write? Do you think writing is all about imagination–well, fiction writing at least? Do you have trouble getting started writing? If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then perhaps what you’re lacking is a routine for your writing.

Good writing relies on writing as much as you can–regularly. While this applies to just about anything you do, most people don’t consider writing in that way. It stands to reason that the more you cook, the better at it you become. So why wouldn’t that apply to your writing?

I always tell my writing students that learning to write is like taking a shower or a bath. Someone had to teach you when you were very young. First, they washed you daily. Then, as time went on, you learned by repetition to wash yourself. But you didn’t stop there. As you grew older, you began to establish a washing routine. Only you know where you begin to wash your body and where you end. Some people even have routines for “quick” showers when they’re in a hurry and “soaking” showers or baths when they want to relax. And let’s not forget the “body beautiful” shower or bath when you take care of other things such as trimming hair and nails.

Now let’s apply this to writing. To get your mind in the write mode, you need to write regularly often–daily if you can. And you need to write at the same time every day, even if it’s for a short time. By doing so, you’ll require less time to warm up, so that you’ll be able to continue where you left off the last time you wrote. If you wait too long between sessions, you’ll lose your train of thought which means you’ll have to digress. So each time you sit down to write, you’ll have to go back a step before you move forward.

It also helps to work on the same piece of writing for a stretch. This way your mind is only working in one direction for a while. If you flit from piece to piece, your mind won’t be able to pick up all the pieces, and it will take you more time to get started each time.

I’ll be discussing this more in the coming weeks. But for now, figure out when you can spare an hour from your busy schedule. This can be daily or two or three times weekly. Then stick to it. Writing is like exercise. If you don’t do it regularly, it takes a while to get back in the swing.