fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #6259 ]

[ SECRET POST #6259 ]

⌈ Secret Post #6259 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Does anyone know how to spark or grow your creativity? Like a book that will help or online course or exercise or something? Anything?

I feel like I used to be creative - I used to create art and write fic and journal and blog, but now if I try to do anything creative there is just a big black void in my brain. The Nothing has taken over. I want to get back to writing but I can't figure out how to get those creative muscles flexing and fear they are gone for good.

I genuinely have to force myself to be creative. :/ Make time slot for it.

I did this but then I'd just sit there with wind howling through my empty skull. Maybe it's anxiety of it being so long since I've been 'successfully' creative blocking me.

One of the things that usually help me is looking up prompt lists on pinterest.
But instead of giving myself the restriction of actually completing the whole list, I get a pen and paper to write/doodle ideas from each prompt.

Like for fandom inspiration, lets say for a ship; I might find a Halloween 30 prompt list and reimagine AUs where that ship might meet involving ghosts (A has wandered into a haunted house and meets B who is the ghost) or werewolves (A might gets bitten by B and keep running into each other afterwards during the full moon).

Or for something more original like using one of those sentence prompts and imagining who would say it and for what reason ("It should have been me" - Character A witnesses a friend get cursed by an item they almost picked up first).

Also, the advice that has helped me is to write 'stupid' for a bit - as in write a bit with zero intention of it being actually good/productive. It can be something dumb or silly or whatever comes out, but either put yourself under a timer (maybe to write for 15 minutes), or however long you want to do it for.
I've ended up with a notebook that's essentially full of the most cringey convoluted, never-ending Y/N fanfiction with several encounters with favorite characters under melodramatic situations. Whenever I've gotten stuck with my other works, that's where I sometimes write for a while without worrying if its good or not because its specifically for me.

I like the idea of browsing prompt lists and doodling ideas as you read them. No pressure for full thoughts or plots and it keeps you in the moment while also letting you keep scrolling.

I read about a similar thing to your last one - someone said they play a game called "100 Bad Ideas" and try to come up with the worst ideas they can, be it poetry or fiction or whatever. There's a lot less pressure than compared to trying to come up with 'good' ideas.

Narrowing my focus by asking what it is exactly I want out of being creative helped me. From time to time I'll have little debates with myself exploring the matter, for example having recently made a list of five movies that I enjoy and then rewatching those movies and making a second list detailing what exactly is it about those individual films that I respect - narrative themes, camera angles, lighting, actor expressions and emotes, et cetera. Afterwards I asked myself if I was or wasn't interested in applying any of those points to my own work and how I might go about doing as such. Asking of yourself exactly 'why' you want to be creative and listing the possible benefits to yourself is a good start too.

This is a difference approach, but prompts and stuff like that have never worked very well for me. My creativity is inspired by experiences - I read a lot, both fiction and non fiction. I watch nature documentaries to inspire me to create better worlds. And I try to get out of the house and experience firsthand art and nature and use my five senses because I think that makes me more able to describe things.

For me personally, there are stages that keep the creativity everflowing - even if I'm not always actively working on my creative works.

1) Allow creativity into your every day - I give a lot of thought into what I write to others, even texts; I doodle even though I'm not a good drawer; I cook as an avenue that connects to my creativity, when I wear makeup, style my clothing, etc. Expressions of my creativity aren't just in my writings.
2) Give yourself room to study/to learn - what are other creatives in your area of interest doing? what have you done in the past that worked for you? take your time figuring out what works for you and what doesn't
3) Have short term goals and long term goals - short term goals means you are getting things going; long term goals means you have a bigger goal to strive toward. full purpose is to have the short term goals help you improve and to help your long term goals seem attainable as time goes on. also, on an extremely personal level, this helps my anxieties so I don't hyperfocus on one project being the end all, be all project that tortures me and burns me out
4) writing wise - write A LOT; journal, write DMs/emails to a long distance friend, write prompts/original ideas/long fics/short fics/drawer fics, write about your day dreams, write about your real dreams. the only way to improve and to get started is to...start
Somewhere, anywhere

*when I was young - and even to this day, though to a lesser degree - I tried to imitate to tone/style of some of my favorite writers. it helped me learn how to get comfortable writing and as the years have gone by I think I've just more or less just learned how to pull out my own personal style in my writings which I picked up from so many writers - taking what works for me, dropping what doesn't.
I hope it makes sense?
I think it rings similarly to this video I watched about how creatives will try to imitate those that inspire/influence them but failing to recreate the influence is the POINT, because it is there that one finds their true creative voice. I couldn't find the video but it was really insightful in what inspiration means rather than plagiarizing or imitating things you like.

*allow your interests to be expansive; writing fiction stories one may think I lean on authors and novels as my "main" interests but I find so much fun in learning how other creatives work whether it be a writer who writes stories, a chef running a restaurant, a filmmaker shooting a film, or any other form of creativity or creation

Creativity is a process that works differently for everyone but in broad strokes I'd say, allow yourself to be creative as much as possible even in seemingly small and insignificant ways, allow a lot in and filter out what works for you and what doesn't. Creativity IMO has no real ends or limitations.

Also, there was a video essay on The Bear (I tried finding the video but I watch so much YT I couldn't find it) and they quoted Ira Glass about the creative process. About how when we create something it will be bad. But it's our taste that lets us know that what we're creating is bad but also what drives to want to create to begin with.

Keep creating!

This is such a thoughtful and positive reply - thank you!

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[ SECRET POST #6259 ]

Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

ayrt

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question

Re: Kind of inspired by #2 - creativity question