The best advice for any creative comes from H. Jackson Brown Jr., who once said, “Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” This means that you shouldn’t wait around (frustrated, I might add) for an idea to hit you, but instead you should actively seek it by doing something, like scrolling through articles associated with it, looking at random pictures or taking a walk.
As a writer who scribbles daily, I find this to be very true. When I’m struggling with an idea or angle for a post, I try not to sit around frustrated because I’m being unproductive and instead try to peruse various articles on similar topics—usually I get hit with an idea from a word or a sentence another writer wrote, throwing me on the right track.
Similarly, creative writers use visual prompts that can inspire a vast array of ideas for stories. Using images can also be great for developing a daily writing habit by scribbling a story about what you see in a random picture. The more unexpected the photo and the more questions it raises, the better, as the goal here is to get inspired by something that is hiding a bigger picture beneath the surface.
Many other creatives use randomness to help their creative juices flow. Like, for example, our interviewee and fine artist Rachel Perls.
"Sometimes, to break out of a slump, you need to look at the problem from a different angle, and take a completely different approach to shake loose the cobwebs and get back to the practice of making art," she said.
To achieve this, she likes to doodle with her daughter or take random photos. "I like to doodle with my daughter, and sometimes we will draw a squiggly line with our eyes closed, then swap pages. We each look for a shape or scene within the random scribbles to develop into a drawing, with only a few minutes per image. The short time frame keeps it lighthearted and casual," Perls shared.
Or, "I take photos of flowers, raindrops, and anything else that catches my eye and keep them organized by type in inspiration folders on my computer. These are all images that, at one point or another, I thought would make great source photos for a painting-perusing them will often re-energize me to land on a new idea," Perls told Bored Panda.
Other times, when she's not being inspired by randomness, she gives herself permission to marinate through a creative block. "I don’t force it, as creative types are always gathering inspiration in one form or another, we just have to make space for inspiration to return when it’s ready. I know there will be lulls in my creativity, as well as surges, and try to be patient and not force the issue."
