How to Fill the Creative Well
10 Mar
{ Photo credit: Feliciano Guimarães via CC by 2.0 license }
“Over the piano was printed a notice: Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.” — Oscar Wilde
Some days are harder than others.
Like today . . .
Today, I’m feeling stuck. Completely and utterly stuck, in the middle of a dull creative drought: No ideas. No inspiration. No nothing.
On days like this, I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to shut my laptop and walk away.
It’s not about giving up; it’s about giving myself a break—to renew and refresh.
Because here’s the thing: You can’t create when your creative well is empty.
So instead of banging your head on the keyboard, or calling yourself names, or crawling into bed to avoid the problem altogether, why not go out and find some inspiration?
I like to call it creative input.
Take a walk. Read a book. Look at some amazing art. Go somewhere—even if it’s your own backyard—and look for something new. Notice what else is going on in the world around you.
Jack London said, “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.”
Go! Do something today to fill your creative well, so when you sit back down again later tonight or tomorrow or the next day, you have some new ideas to draw on.
Creativity, of any kind, doesn’t occur in a vaccuum. There’s no creative output without some creative input, so don’t neglect to nurture your inner artist. Give that creativity something to feed on.
I’m heading off to find myself some inspiration today. And in the meantime, I’m hanging this reminder above my desk: Please don’t shoot the writer. She’s doing her best.
I just journal when I feel stuck. This is a great post though. I love the idea of “filling up the creative well.” You are SO right.
Thanks, Amy! I forget how important this is to do, and lately, I’m really feeling the effects of a lack of inspiration! I should start following Julia Cameron’s advice for making a weekly “artist date” — to keep the inspiration flowing!