Comments on: What to Do When You Run Out Of Inspiration

By: Samuel

Samuel — Fri, 21 May 2010 11:27:28 +0000

Actually, this might sound like a bad excuse to talk about my blog but this is seriously how I continue to be creative.

By having a blog about how to become creative, I inspire myself and have also made it so that I have to come back and do more everyday because now I have an audience.

So my advice is to have deadlines and promises for other people. It can be very simple and just for your family. Let’s say, “on Tuesday I will play this piano piece!” This will motivate you because you don’t want to not keep your promises.

Also, to start with something silly and easy. It does not have to be good even. My own experience is that once you start something, more will come.

Just starting “something” is the hardest part because you are battling you doubts and fears. But once you have started you have mostly passed those worries and it gets easier to move. It is like pushing a heavy boulder down the hill. Hard a first but then it keeps rolling faster and faster.

By: Creativity Roundup #5 « Strangling My Muse

Creativity Roundup #5 « Strangling My Muse — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:20:14 +0000

[...] What to Do When You Run Out of Inspiration. Mark McGuinness gives tips for lighting a fire under your muse in this inspiring post. (from Lateral Action) [...]

By: Lorne M.

Lorne M. — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:57:20 +0000

My own business is everything but poetic (however sometimes I believe even numbers and charts have their own spirit), but during my university times I tried to to write a bit. I had one good way of overcoming a block. I just sat down and started writing. No matter what – just a word after word, sentence after sentence. 90% of those writings ended up in bin, however it lead to success (ok, ‘success’ in my own terms) finally. If you incorporate this exercise into your daily routine, it can help a lot.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:16:22 +0000

Thanks everyone, glad it struck a chord.

@ Dave

Strangely, running out of inspiration has never been the problem.

The problem has always been the inspiration outrunning the rent.

@ Steve – Excellent point about narrative structure giving you a hint as to where to go next. In poetry, form can do the same thing – once you find the poem’s form, it shows you where to look for the rest of the poem. If you’ve got half a sonnet, you know what shape the other half should be; if it starts cantering along like a ballad, you need to listen out for those rhythmic hoofbeats…

By: Links for May 9 2010 — Eric D. Brown

Links for May 9 2010 — Eric D. Brown — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:49:34 +0000

[...] What to Do When You Run Out Of Inspiration by By Mark McGuinness on Lateral Action [...]

By: Clayton Kashuba

Clayton Kashuba — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:06:18 +0000

I agree Mark, the “Roll Your Sleeves up and Get on with It” philosophy is never the wrong path.

Creating something even without the inspiration will often make us learn something new, just by going forward, making mistakes, and reflecting.

And because of that, learning new things will often lead us to new bursts of inspirations.

By: Steve Dockendorf

Steve Dockendorf — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:40:34 +0000

My trick for re-energizing my inspiration came from Drama class in high school. I was taught that the classic structure of a story was beginning, middle and end. So when faced with a verse of a song that literally fell out of the sky and then having absolutely no further ideas on how to complete the song, I compared it with the classic structure above.

I realized that the verse I had so easily conceived was actually the middle of the story. Once I knew I needed a beginning and end, the two needed verses came flooding in faster than I could write. Plus a bridge arrived as well in the mix.

If you have a file of unfinished “ideas” I suggest you eyeball what fragment you have against the backdrop of the above framework. It might kickstart YOUR inspiration.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:55:22 +0000

To break a block, you gotta break the routine you’re stuck in. It doesn’t have to be a big break. Try working standing up, or in a different room. Don’t do any work for 5 minutes. Nap, fix yourself a snack. Sometimes you have to quiet your mind to hear your thoughts.

By: Dave Doolin

Dave Doolin — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:58:00 +0000

Strangely, running out of inspiration has never been the problem.

The problem has always been the inspiration outrunning the rent.

I have to stop myself from writing, from programming, from various other creative activities (fixing my surfboard, etc), to focus on earning money.

Aligning these two activities is something I’ve not yet achieved (not for lack of trying).

By: Pk

Pk — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:39:45 +0000

“Don’t worry so much about planning everything in advance”
- very true. In my case I wasted like a year in simply planning. And none of them materialized. So I thought, okay let’s just plan the beginning, spend some time and start executing it no matter what stage the plan is. Now, looking back, this has helped me complete two nice projects.