How To Stay Creative as a Writer

Creativity is often looked on as though it's some mystical quality that either you have, or you don’t.

We all have creative hotspots we excel in. The things that we find more comfortable to do but produce results that are always impressive.

I love plotting stories and is one of my main writing strengths. But as a writer, the trick is to be able to remain creatively sharp throughout your writing career.

I believe you can keep your edge if you are willing to take on board twelve actions that will guarantee continuously creative work. There may be some truth to having a natural knack for certain kinds of creativity, but much like everything else, it’s a skill like any other that can be learned and improved.

Step 1: Keep Busy - If you can keep your enthusiasm high, you are more likely to be more productive. Just make sure you are busy working on your art.

Step 2: Write Down Your Ideas - Keep a journal - digital one or notebook. Throughout your day, you will be experiencing to a greater or lesser degree flashes of inspiration that you must be ready to capture. I prefer a notebook, and it’s my constant companion.

Step 3: Read Wide; Read A Lot - The man who doesn’t read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. Need I say more.

Step 4: Never Stop Learning - The person who can adapt to changing circumstances has a better chance of thriving in a world we inhabit. Learning can push your brain to its limits, test your ability to react to different situations and prepare you to think on your feet, and to think obliquely. Learning new skills prepares you for this.

Step 5: Take regular Naps - Taking a nap is good for your physical and mental health. Your circadian rhythm is your 24-hour body clock, and if you’re awake, you are usually switched on in full flight or fight mode. But when you have a nap - 15 - 20 minutes is ideal, you switch the other way, into rest and digest mode and your subconscious creative self comes into its element. I’ve had many creative leaps in this zone; it works.

Step 6: Travel - The merits of travel are a matter of record, and numerous research has proven its benefits. It is an equally potent tool in improving your creativity. Being exposed to New cultures, language, religions, politics, and people will have a profound impact on how you process the world. Get ready to think different with every trip you take.

Step 7: Meditate - Cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato claims that meditation is an effective way to stimulate divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a key driver that boosts creativity and productivity.
If you are someone who often has to be creative, you are likely familiar with the thrill that comes from the challenge of solving the problem at hand. But it can be frustrating when you are cycling through the same ideas and the same thought patterns while trying to get to the solution, and getting nowhere. During times that you have lost your creative flow, it can be challenging to make progress. Meditation stimulates your neocortex, which is the area of the brain that does your creative thinking. Studies have found that people who meditate think less rigidly than those who don’t, which allows them to be more creative and flexible. This is our goal.

Step 8: Have an eclectic taste in music - It’s all about the quality of your input that will determine your output. Music is one of these things that can dredge up memory and emotion that you didn’t realize still coexisted with you. And for a writer, they are powerful tools you can use in your work. Don’t waste it.

Step 9: Enjoy the Creative Process - Do it because you love it. That’s the best frame of mind to have. I’m not saying the end product isn’t important but focus on the process. Your creative output will benefit from your positive frame of mind.

Step 10: Break the Rules - You won’t win in life by following rules society sets for you because the general public primarily does things from a place of fear. Step out of your comfort zone daily. Remember the masses are not doing this. You will never win if you act predominantly from fear. You will never live your dreams if confined by lack and limitation. Experiment and don’t be afraid to challenge convention.

Step 11: Write every day -The only solution here is to be ruthless. You have to start thinking of writing as a non-negotiable part of your life like bathing and brushing your teeth. Once we embed it into our lives, it becomes no longer a task but often a great pleasure.

Step 12: Learn from your mistakes - Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from them and go on to the next challenge. I don’t care what anyone says; failure isn’t sexy, but without it, there is no growth.

You have to be humble to stay creative. You have to keep a beginner’s mind and remain curious. I challenge myself all the time and keep telling myself how little I know. It’s hard, but the less you self-censor yourself, the better. Embrace your uniqueness, your quirkiness, and let the strange ideas come in. Your weirdness can set you apart and give you the edge you need. A lot of these ideas will not fly, but that’s a part of the process of creativity.

Another point.

We need to take the time to give our minds space to be free and not have to think. Personally, I need to give myself time to recharge, absorb, and grow. If writing is like working out, space is like the necessary rest required to make me more resilient when I decide to write my next book.

Who is responsible for you staying creative?

You are.
No one else. So don’t wait for someone to push you to get better creatively. In the same way, you have to put gas in your car; you have to refuel your creative self. We are not mindless machines; ultimately, there is an ebb and flow to our creativity. Just don’t panic when it does ebb, just breath and keep showing up.

And remember, keep things weird. That’s where the good stuff resides.

Anton Marks is a Jamaican born UK lover of the street life, fantastical fiction, film, comics and an appreciation for the written word.
Tweet him @AntonMarks