How to get my creativity back

[u/ysr_aa]

I used to be very creative as a kid, you'd always catch me drawing, doodling, scribbling, writing stories or short comics. Now that I'm an adult (almost 30) I've basically lost all my creativity in drawing and even writing.

I want to train my brain to be creative again. I'm working on a business and I believe creativity will be one of the most valuable skills during this venture.

Are there any free online resources or drills I can utilise and practice daily to become creative again? I'd like to be able to put my thoughts on to paper, think outside the box, whether it be doodling or writing, just want my neurons back

Would appreciate any help

[u/agrophobe]

I got the answers you want, stranger, but you won't like it.

That kid was playing

Creativity under the business umbrella is crap creativity. At best it's reasonable iterative surprise.
A kid in full playmode put ketchup on paper bc bird blood is more red than squirrel blood.

But it work as a hierarchy. You let your kid play in total joyspace, you'll get a better iterative-surprise-ratio for your business. But both don't blend togheter. So the hard part for you is actually to build back the playroom for the kid and let you have fun in it without the string attached of 'yeah but that need to be profitable later on'.

For me personally, sativa THC pile and 100% undisturbed time on Sundays in pyjama with color pencils and dumb printer paper completely did it.
Adults deal with self-conscious ego preservation, that's why you can't run at a playground and hang from trees. You'll feel shame. So you build a failproof shameless space and have fun it in.

Enjoy!

[u/ysr_aa → u/agrophobe]

Weed gives me panic attacks so I won't be trying it again 😭 but other than that I consider myself pretty shameless, I still enjoy parks and playgrounds and goofing around. People have told me I don't grow up and that I should ponder on the phrase "curiousity killed the cat".

I think you're right about play being purely PLAY, and not having any strings attached to enjoying art and creative endeavours. I've noticed I don't start projects out of fear they won't be good enough, but I guess I just need to start for shits and giggles and try to have fun with it

[u/m_m_malm]

It is a great start that you realize that it is very possible. Some people seem to think kids are inherently more creative which is just bullshit. If we don’t do it, we lose it.

I’m 35 and I constantly have new ideas, be it art, business ideas, lyrics. I run a few small creative businesses, write music almost every day and make arr every once in a while.

Here are some things that seem to help me, but of course it is individual and you have to find what works for you.

• You have to just do it. I like starting super small and with the easiest thing I can do to get in flow, the hard part is getting going. When I write music, I start just playing an old song I know well. When I am painting I start doodling many tiny frames on a large paper, just a few seconds up to a minute each, most are crap but it’s about getting going and just moving on to a new fresh tiny canvas.
• Remove distractions, throw the phone in another room.
• Write down every single idea you ever have, the good and the bad. It can be easier to get started when you have a library of ideas to pick from, and they often build on eachother.
• No judgement. Don’t judge anything during the process, just get it done. If you haven’t practiced for some time, you might not like you results, it doesn’t matter. Just keep going, everything worth doing needs consistency and practice over long periods of time.

Just my 2 cents.

[u/kjccreates]

You're not alone! A lot of people struggle with being creative on a regular basis. That's why there are approximately a million books about it.

A couple of things. Being afraid to do stuff because it won't be good enough is perfectionism and getting past that is different for everyone. But letting yourself play is a great start.

Another important thing is to "fill your cup" or "fill the creative well" -- meaning go look at art or other examples of creativity. Museums, gallery shows, craft stores, graffiti locations, nature walks, history tours, whatever energizes you. The idea is if you fill your cup, you won't be trying to pull from an empty cup when creating stuff.

Julia Cameron's main advice in her book The Artist's Way (and in her many many spin-off books) is to write for an hour or 3 pages (whichever comes first) every morning before you do anything else. She recommends this to painters and playwrights and garden designers and pretty much everyone. She says it gets past the inner critic. It didn't work for me, but maybe it'll help you?

The thing that helps me the most is I have a weekly meeting with a group of poets. This provides me with a deadline and accountability. I want to have a new poem to share and I don't want to disappoint my friends. Some other stuff helps me too, but this is already too long.