Bustling with life in every mind is imagination city. It never sleeps or stops. Until there’s a traffic jam. The infamous creative block has many categories: writer’s block, design block, painting block. Well, I haven’t heard that last one, but I’m sure even painters freeze at the canvas sometimes. Easier to say creative block since it’s all the same scenario: you’re doing what you love and then draw a blank.
Creative blocks are of particular annoyance. Everyone has an idea of things to do to break the block. For me, these five things really helped move traffic along and gave me a plethora of ideas for projects and books.
Prompts
Prompts are an awesome way to get ideas. Currently, when I have the chance, I go through my writing prompts from Writer’s Digest. Though most of them are odd, it’s the odd ones that loosen the mind and get ideas flowing.
My current prompt discovery tool is the dictionary. I throw a bunch of words and definitions into a box, shake it up, pick one, and write a short story (that would be the Story of the Day). All kinds of mediums and words are primed with prompts for your usage. You just need to look around a little.
Along the line of prompts are lists. Many of my school projects started with a list of 20-30 nouns or verbs. Start with ten. If you can think of more, add more. Select whichever one calls to you and either hit the ground running with that noun or verb or BRAINSTORM.
Brainstorm
I learned about brainstorming in my first class at SCAD. Once you select a word or phrase, the next best step is to create a “mind map” like this one.
The idea of a mind map is to think deeper than the surface word. For “sand castle,” I used the mind map to help create steps and figure out what background details I wanted to include in my how-to comic. I’ve also used mind maps to go from a verb to a design style that could convey that verb (e.g., betrayal to shatter). Mind maps have many uses and they’re very simple to comprehend.
I find it best to use colors, but pen or pencil works too. Start with your word in the middle. Whatever that word makes you think of, add to the surrounding layer. These can be literal or abstract. Keep adding words that remind you of each term as you move outward. Don’t be afraid to go back; sometimes the answer came sooner than you expected.
Mind Wipe
When I say “mind wipe,” I don’t mean the devices in Men in Black. Though that would fix a lot of problems.
Mind wipe refers to getting away from the canvas, computer, or drafting board and doing something completely different. Under this category falls new experiences and relaxation. New experiences can jog the mind and give ideas that you would’ve never considered. Get into nature. Read a book. Experience something new and you’ll find something new.
Relaxation is my favorite since I get so little of it. For me, it’s crocheting or reading. Yours will be different, but the idea is to relax and not think about the project. When you come back, your mind will be fresh and thoughts will come more easily.
Think Logically
Both of my parents are engineers, so while I’m super creative, I still find comfort in logically thinking through a block. This point is especially helpful with deadlines.
To “think logically,” I read through my assignment. While doing this, I take notes on the important points. Once I have that information, I’ll do some research on creatures, feelings, whatever the assignment calls for. The research stage usually gives me ideas, but the important part is to list out all the details of an assignment, client request, or other project so the extraneous information doesn’t block your imagination.
Research
I don’t do a lot of research when it comes to writing. I mean, everything I write is fiction; I shouldn’t need to research. But I’ve found recently that looking into similar topics to my story and diving deeper into specific elements like homeless shelters or middle age culture spur all kinds of ideas for crafting a fake world.
Sometimes the answer is knowledge you don’t have yet. The internet is always a fast source, but I still love the library and exploring encyclopedias and dictionaries. The other great part about books is that you’ll have access to knowledge you don’t need yet. When it becomes relevant, you have the source and don’t need to retrace your steps three months ago. Books with similar plots and storylines are also good sources of inspiration. Just be careful not to plagiarize.
Final Thoughts
All creative breaks are different and some tricks might not work. Sometimes it doesn’t matter, but other times there could be a deadline. The most important thing to realize is to stay calm. Stress is like a car crash in our mental city; it clogs the brain and excites the issue beyond normal proportions. All focus goes to what’s wrong instead of thinking outside the box and solving the problem.
Keeping a cool head breaks a block faster than any trick. Take a breath, step away, count to a hundred. Let the frustration and anxiety subside. Believe me, it’ll save you more time to take a few minutes away from the problem than to ram your head against it continuously.