Clay Mitchell's Blog - Posts Tagged "creative"
Can we train our creative juices to flow on demand?
There is nothing more irritating to a writer than to finally find the time to sit down and crank out some words, only to find the creative tank empty. If you are like me, you can find your greatest inspiration flowing at the most inopportune time, like when you are headed to work in the morning.
I don't know if it's the coffee tickling my right brain, or the fear of an entire day devoted to left brain activity that causes my creative engine to fire up, but it is an ugly feeling to have to deny my inspiration, then try to get pumped about going to work.
The only thing you can do when this happens to you is stop and write down some notes, hoping that it will all come back to you later.
After many months of being frustrated with interruptions from work, family, and temptations such as: beer with friends, pool, golf, fishing or a good movie, I finally learned that if I set aside the same time everyday as my writing time, my creative juices would learn to "get up for the game" so to speak. I also found that it helped discipline me. Let's face it, the world is growing more distracting day by day.
Establishing a routine for your writing is critical for busy people. If it's really important to you, it deserves allocating a time slot. If you do, your mind will come to your aid. The human brain is extremely adaptive to routine and repetition. Just like when your stomach tells you it's lunch time, your mind will begin to tell you it's writing time.
Try your best to get the support of those around you to recognize your writing time. Always keep your inspiring books, music, pictures, or movies close by, and leave this world behind for at least an hour everyday. You'll soon find your office door to be a gateway to another universe! Best of luck in your writing!
I don't know if it's the coffee tickling my right brain, or the fear of an entire day devoted to left brain activity that causes my creative engine to fire up, but it is an ugly feeling to have to deny my inspiration, then try to get pumped about going to work.
The only thing you can do when this happens to you is stop and write down some notes, hoping that it will all come back to you later.
After many months of being frustrated with interruptions from work, family, and temptations such as: beer with friends, pool, golf, fishing or a good movie, I finally learned that if I set aside the same time everyday as my writing time, my creative juices would learn to "get up for the game" so to speak. I also found that it helped discipline me. Let's face it, the world is growing more distracting day by day.
Establishing a routine for your writing is critical for busy people. If it's really important to you, it deserves allocating a time slot. If you do, your mind will come to your aid. The human brain is extremely adaptive to routine and repetition. Just like when your stomach tells you it's lunch time, your mind will begin to tell you it's writing time.
Try your best to get the support of those around you to recognize your writing time. Always keep your inspiring books, music, pictures, or movies close by, and leave this world behind for at least an hour everyday. You'll soon find your office door to be a gateway to another universe! Best of luck in your writing!
