3 Practical Techniques to Refill a Creative Gas Tank
Joseph Young
Creativity, like any source of inspiration or imagination, has a limit. People have finite energy levels for activities such as exercising, cooking, or studying; there is a limit before they become too tired, and their store of energy dries up. Just as a car cannot drive perpetually, artists eventually will run out of creativity, inspiration, or ideas, all of which fuel writing. But there is no need to fear, because there are several tactics to refill your creative gas tank and fuel your future projects. Below are three tactics you can use to refill your tank and spark your creative engine so you can get moving again:
Allow Yourself to Take a Break When Needed
As controversial as this may sound, sometimes taking a break and creating distance with your current work in progress is a helpful tactic to gain progress. If you have worked on any piece of writing for enough time, you will sooner or later run into a dry spell; your ideas and inspiration will dry up and the story will grind to a discouraging halt. And without momentum to carry you forward in the story, it can be challenging to keep going. You may be tempted to push on and persevere. In some cases, this may be necessary, but most of the time, it is a sign that you need a break. While writing slumps can be a multifaceted problem, it is possible you have bene spending too much time on the piece and can no longer look objectively at it. When this happens, it can make your engagement to the piece, excitement, and enjoyment suffer.
Now, there is nothing wrong with productivity, and creating a writing schedule can be exceedingly helpful in writing more, but there is such a thing as writing to the point where you have depleted your creative juices and dried up fresh ideas. After this, expecting your creative motor to continue running, and running on all cylinders, is nonsensical. Such an approach could lead to burnout if you aren’t allowing yourself time to recharge, or refill.
That is why stepping away from the piece, either for an hour, a day, or a week, can help you get perspective and create healthy breathing room. And by allowing yourself to focus on something else, it can create space in your mind for ideas and make you open to outside ideas and inspirations that can fill up your imagination and motivation.
Remember Why You Started Writing in the First Place
Everyone needs a reminder now and again about why they are doing what they are doing. Just as a car has a check engine light, a writing slump due to an empty gas tank can be a sign that something needs to be fixed or addressed. While you are taking a break from your piece, if you choose to, this can be a great opportunity to fix that check engine light. Whether it is a movie, a song, or an insatiable need to tell stories, reconnecting with things that inspired you to start writing in the first place can help reinvigorate your motivation and energy on your current project. Furthermore, revisiting sources of inspiration can help you come up with new ideas or remind yourself of old ideas you never tried out. Either way, getting in touch with the reason why you started writing can help you find more meaning in your work and help refill your motivation and creative energy to write.
Take a Literary Adventure into Unknown Genres
If you are writing creatively, then you should have a gauge of the types of literature or stories you prefer over others. Maybe sci-fi is your favorite. Maybe a good romance novel is your go to after a long day of work. Whatever the case, your writing will tend to reflect what you read. So, if you want a source of new and fresh ideas and perspectives for your story, consider reading outside of your comfort zone. By broadening your literary palette, you can expose yourself to new ideas and styles that you would otherwise not experience if you stayed in your preferred genre-lane. This is a novel way to spark excitement about your writing; if you find a story or idea you really like, it will help you to gain motivation to continue your work in progress or to start a new story altogether.
Conclusion
Everyone gets in writing slumps now and again; but it doesn’t have to be the end of the road. Take a pit stop–take a break from the project, reconnect to your “why,” and read outside of your comfort zone to refill your tank. By implementing any of these steps, you can be working toward fueling your creative projects with renewed drive, passion, and creativity, one word at a time.
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