Inspiration Explosion: 14 Rousing Resources For Your Creative Explorations
Writer. Designer. Crafter. Creator.
Whatever title you go by, if you’re in the business of creativity, then you know that sometimes creativity can be hard to come by. This often happens when you’re most in in need of it. Here’s a list of my favorite places to seek out inspiration. Have fun exploring…a lot of these resources will wrap you up in their imaginative, ingenious concepts for hours.
1. Colour Lovers
Careful before you click on this link. Make sure you’ve got an extra hour or two lying around because I promise it’s almost impossible to pull yourself away from this one once you get involved.
Colour Lovers allows you to create colors, palettes and patterns so seamlessly and easily. My favorite feature is the ability to create a color palette based on a photo or image from the web. Just enter the url of the image you want to dissect and the colourlovers site extracts the different hues for you use in creating your palette.
After you’ve created a color palette, you can then apply it to one of 112 customizable patterns. I’ve already lost you for the rest of this post, haven’t I? I know, it’s pretty freakin’ cool. You can also download the palettes and patterns you create in a number of different file formats, including Photoshop and Illustrator.
Check out some of my own creations.
2. Visual Thesaurus
A thesaurus can be a writer’s best friend or worst enemy, acting as either a great source for inspiration, or a crutch holding you back from your full potential. So, how do you utilize this reference tool for your benefit? Simple. Don’t look to your thesaurus for the answers; look for a little boost to push you closer to the answers.
The approach Visual Thesaurus takes to language “encourages exploration and learning.” Right away, that means your less likely to find the “answers” there, only new questions to lead you toward a variety of answers. Test it out. You’ll get lost in language like you never have before.
3. Polyvore
Inspiration boards are a great way to showcase images, words and works that help fuel your creative expeditions. Polyvore is a great site that makes it ridiculously simple to gather any web images you like and turn them into a creative collage for inspiration.
Drag and drop. That’s really all there is to it. Wanna make it even easier? Add Polyvore’s Clipper to your Bookmarks Toolbar, and you can quickly import images from any site you visit.
4. Language Is A Virus
This one is full of plenty of prompts and boosts for any time you find yourself “blocked.”
You’ll find links to all sorts of fun word generators. One of my favorites is the title-o-matic. Whatever title pops up, I like to try and apply it to an experience or event in my own life. It’s a neat way to find a new approach to an old story.
5. Idee Inc.’s Multicolr Search Lab
This is one of two flickr related sites I’ve got on this list. And, really, I could add a lot more.
Prepare to be blown away. This site lets you search millions of flickr images by COLOR. Yep, just click on the desired colors in the palette on the right, and it will bring up all the images that contain that combination. Endless possibilities….
6. IncSpring
Let me start this one with a disclaimer: I don’t necessarily agree with the premise behind this site, however it’s filled with great designs and branding ideas that can light a fire under your own ideas.
Basically, the site is a place for designers to sell their unused designs and brands to entrepreneurs who are willing to buy them. Meh, still not so sure about that concept, but the site is filled with creative solutions. The designs are arranged by industry, which makes it easy to search for something specific if that’s what you’ve got in mind.
7. Wordle
As a writer, and a lover of words, this website is one of my favorite. Wordle is a place to create beautiful word clouds with any text you provide. You customize everything the way you want it: layout, font and color.
Here’s one I created using an old post about creativity.
8. Big Huge Labs
This is the other flickr-related link I mentioned. Big Huge Labs is a great collection of “flickr toys” that you can use with your own flickr images.
Add a matte or frame to your image, turn a photo into desktop wallpaper, create a slideshow or make your image a header for your blog. You’ll find so many great ways to display your flickr images, and an even better way to spark a new appreciation for them.
9. Ultimate List of Blog Heading Titles and Templates
If you, or your blog, ever get stuck in a rut, this post by Jacob Cass of Just Creative Design is a great resource to have bookmarked.
Jacob provides a great list of title and heading formats that only require you to fill in the blank. I guarantee you’ll find inspiration for your own new post somewhere amidst J.C.’s post.
10. 50 Word Press Plug-ins for Bloggers
Another great resource for sparking some new ideas for your blog from Mashable.
A little bit different from most of the other links on this list, this post lists a ton of resources for managing and streamlining your blog. A lot of keeping up with a blog involves a string of tedious tasks. These resources make those tasks so much easier, leaving you with a lot more time to be INSPIRED and CREATE.
11. Quotes About Writing
When I find myself in not-so-great mood, not wanting to write, there is one source I can always count on to get me motivated: reading writing about writing. Mouthful, huh? Well more simply put, I turn to quotes about writing. I always find that one little spark to ignite the willingness and passion. This is the most extensive collection I’ve found on the web.
12. Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture
Hopefully, you’ve heard all about Randy Pausch and his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. If not, I suggest you immediately block off the next available one hour and 16 minutes that you have open in your schedule, and book a date to watch this video.
If Randy can’t inspire you, I’m not sure there’s much out there that can.
13. Getting Writing Done: A Guest Post on Copyblogger
I love reading Brian Clark’s posts. Even more than that, I love that he picks the most incredible guest bloggers who totally understand his style and write just as prlifically as he does. Jane Northcote’s post about getting down to act of writing is a perfect example.
Her 7 tips seem so simple. But, when we’re in a creative rut, that’s the one thing we need to be reminded of the most: the simplicity of writing. When you start to make things more complicated than they really are, refer back to Jane’s post to help keep things in perspective.
14. Jott
And last, but certainly not least, JOTT.
Sometimes the most frustrating thing about inspiration is that we can’t control when it comes to us. Often we are inspired and feeling our creative juices at the most inopportune time. Enter Jott. This incredible service allows you to send emails, record thoughts, make a list of to-dos and set reminders - all with a simple phone call. Technology is too cool sometimes.
Connecting With Your Roots
In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron includes a chapter about “roots” as related to writing life.
In order to bloom, all of us need a root system. Just as a regular practice of writing roots us firmly in our lives, a regular life roots us firmly in our writing.
Sometimes I get so swept up and taken away by all the creativity pumping through my veins. Do you get that? Inspiration overdrive, baby. I get tuned in and this state-of-mind can last a few minutes, a few hours or even a few days. And, when I am in creative-mad-woman mode, it’s hard to pull myself away. But, I have to - and so do you.
My wedding is in 9 days. For the last eight months, August 23, 2008 has been this sanctimonious day on my calendar. Crazy how a day can cause normally rational people to get downright irrational at times. (I’m mainly referring to myself). So much focus on that one single day. I recently realized what was happening.
The deeper I sank into the trenches of the wedding hoopla, the more roots I was severing. If I kept going at this pace, I’d have no lifeline back to reality - and to the real importance of my wedding day.
Replenishment
I’m blessed with some wonderful people in my life. Four of them will stand next to me as I marry my best friend and the love of my life.
Three of those ladies live in Denver and must have sensed that I was slipping away into wedding insanity. They put me on a plane and treated me to bachelorett fun, Denver style. (The fourth is preggo with twins :))
Nurturing roots of a regular life sure is a whole hell of a lotta fun! Girls, thanks for the much needed break and the memories that will stick with me forever. You gave my roots a much-needed boost.
Forget The Words, Write With Thought
Flipping through an old binder of mine from my incredible experience in Donna Ladd ’s writing classes, I found a Chip Scanlan article from last summer that I printed out and saved:
“Ways with Words, Ways with Thoughts: A Bond with Abraham Lincoln”
Chip got me thinking — which is somewhat amusing, since the whole premise of his post is about how good writers are good at what they do, not because they have a way with words, but because they are so savvy with their thoughts. So,
I only recently discovered how much passion I have for writing. I never had any trouble writing well, and never objected to writing during those years in college and graduate school. But, even through all that writing, I never found the spark to power that intense fire I now have for my craft.
Going back and reading Chip’s article I was suddenly aware of why it took me so long to find that fervor, and why so many people struggle so desperately when faced with the task of writing something - anything.
At War With a Blank Page
Writers and non-writers alike have experienced it. Sitting in front of a clean, white document on your computer screen, or staring at the unfilled lines of a legal pad on your desk. A blank page can be seriously intimidating if you approach it haphazardly. And, for the longest time, I approached it by eyeing what I just assumed was the prize for good writing: the language and the words.
I was so concerned with beautiful presentation, I ignored a fairly important detail. Was my material even worth presenting?
Seeking a Deeper Meaning
It wasn’t instantaneous. I didn’t roll out of bed one morning and decide, “Okay, today is the day I really start to think about my writing.” It would have save a lot of wear an tear on my computer’s backspace key, I can promise you that. No, instead, I gradually opened my eyes to new ideas about the writing process. I credit Donna Ladd, Anne Lamott, Julia Cameron, Chip Scanlan and so many other great thinkers with that awakening.
I finally stepped outside my ego and let go of that unhealthy desire for perfection in every word I put down on paper. Suddenly, writing became my way of making sense of everything, everywhere and everyone I encountered. I was on a quest to find the greater meaning, the ultimate truths, and I had the most reliable compass in the world to lead my on that journey.
Challenging Your Own Thoughts
The next time you get ready to sit down and type or write something, don’t do it. Well, not yet anyway. You probably are not as ready as you think. Instead, take a few minutes, or even a few hours if you’ve got the time, and really think about what you plan to write. You could ask yourself a million questions, but on account of space and bandwidth, I won’t list all of them. Here are some of my favorite questions, thought, that are sure to get your wheels turning. After that the words are easy.
- What will shock the reader most?
- In 10 words, how can I sum up what my story is about?
- What image or symbol best fits my story?
- What famous quote best relates to the topic?
- What one thing MUST be included in the story?
- What one thing can be left out?
- How many scenes does your story need to make sense?
- Is there conflict between any characters?
- Do things backwards. What should your final paragraph say?
- What are 5 words that best describe the sense of place you want to convey to your reader?
- The lede: what piece of info will make the reader want to keep reading?
- Pick 5 things in your story (a character, a place, and object) and list descriptive adjectives for each.
- What makes this story original?
- Think about how you might tell your story to a child?
The possibilities are endless. Once you become open to exploring new directions for your story, you’ll be surprised at how easily your thoughts start flow, and how easy and enjoyable writing is because of that.
Books to Bring out the Creative Writer in You
I haven’t talked a whole lot about my writing on this blog. I’m not entirely sure why. I am still exploring my own personal writing process, especially with blogging, and I guess I’m just not ready to expose myself in such a vulnerable state. I’ve always hated exposing any of my vulnerabilities. But, that’s a whole different therapy session in itself.
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I often have this love/hate relationship with my own writing. I know that when I sit down in front my iBook with the intention of pounding out the next story, blog post or rant on my unduly-broken-in keyboard, the words will come. If I just sit down, type and ignore the backspace key for one round, I will find that moment of comfort where all is truly right with the world. I am writer, hear me roar!
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, what sounds like the easiest part is often the hardest for me: getting my butt in that chair and deciding to write. Can you relate? Do you just need a little jump start of inspiration sometimes? Boy, do I ever.
I find my inspiration from all sorts of sources, but I’ve found the best spark for the writer in me comes from books - not blogs, online articles or magazines - but books. I think it’s because I’ve always had this appetite for them. The content and contruction of books make this amazing little package that fits in your hands, is perfect to curl up to and reaches so many different people in so many completely different ways. I can’t wait to write my first one.
Here are five books that are truly special to me. During those times I’m fighting the thought of that computer chair, I can always count on these little packages to deliver.
1. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron - No mistake that I stuck this book at number one. The first time I worked through this book was in high school, and I’ve done it two or three times since. Each time gets more rewarding. Cameron has the most beautiful and gentle way of giving you a swift kick in the ass when it comes to using your creativity. Just writing these few sentences about the book, makes me itch to start the process again. I believe I just might.
2. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - Shitty first drafts, broccoli and index cards. If you are confused by any of these, you must immediately drop what you are doing (well after you finish reading my post :)), and go get this book. Lamott is a pistol with a pen, a poet with poise. From the book’s intro on writing: “It’s like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony.”
3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - A mix of grace, wit and that I’d-love-to-have-a-beer with you quality, Gilbert invites the reader to share in one of the most deeply personal experiences in her life. As she makes a major life change, she travels to Italy, Indonesia and India, and brings you along as she immerses herself in all three extremely different cultures. I guarantee Gilbert’s journey to rekindle her passion for life will ignite some kind of passion in you. I’m also totally jealous of her experiences from this book, by the way.
4. A Writer’s Time by Kenneth Atchity - Published in 1986, this is one of those books that will matter and mean something ten years or one hundred years from now. Atchity explores the creative process of writing, and offers poignant advice on all the steps in it. This book may be a little less “touchy-feely” than the ones I’ve listed so far, but its value is no less.
5. The Right to Write by Julia Cameron - Yep, another J.C. book. She’s just too wonderful. This book is not nearly as well-known as The Artist’s Way, but I love it just as much. She talks about quite a few of the same concepts from it, but here she explores them much more deeply. Some passages in this book I need only think about for a split second and I find that desire to write, and to be a writer….
“In a sense, our creativity is none of our business. It is a givin, not something to be aspired to. It is not an invention of our ego. It is, instead, a natural function of our soul. We are intended to breathe and to live. We are intended to listen and create. We do not need special pens. We do not need special rooms or even special times. What we do need is the intention to allow creativity to create through us. When we open ourselves up to something or someone greater than ourselves working through us, we paradoxically open ourselves to our own greatest selves.”
Creative Triggers are EVERYWHERE: Links to Get Started
It’s been close to a year now since I first became interested in creativity research, and honestly, my brain is overwhelmed with all the information I’ve tried to take in. Do you ever do that? Find a passion for some topic that is so strong you just have this itch to learn EVERYTHING about - and you want to learn AND know it as quickly as humanly possible? Only your human brain can’t quite catch up to that itch and that passion?
Well, anyway, that’s the way I’ve felt about creativity. My backlog of articles saved in the “Creativity Research” folder on my computer is a fine example of my desire to know it all, and know it all NOW. I’ll never catch up to the passion. Every time I make it through a few files, I find more to take their place on the “unread” list.
Even though I’m nowhere close to having all the answers when it comes to creativity, I’ve learned so much. So much, that I might even label myself “a connoisseur of creativity.”
Cutting Creativity Down to Size
While exploring the world of creativity research, I think the single most intriguing piece of information I’ve encountered is the idea that creativity is something that exists in everyone. It’s not a rarity or gift that only a special few are blessed to receive. Creativity is everywhere.
Back in April, I wrote a two-part post about squashing the idea that someone “just isn’t a creative person.” We can all be creative souls. Creativity requires nothing more than open-mindedness, letting go of our fear of being wrong and the willingness to act.
Somehow we’ve all gotten the impression that in order for something to be considered “creative,” it has to be this huge, life changing concept. Really, creativity takes nothing more than a simple idea. James Webb Young refers to an idea as “nothing more or less than new combination of old elements.” Well stated, Jimmy.
Everyday, I keep myself open to creative possibilities. I read, I browse, I explore, all in search of inspiration for all the creative outlets that are part of my life. I wander in and out of the endless creative passageways I encounter, keeping my eyes peeled for a chance to create my own unique combination of the elements that greet me.
I challenge you to greet tomorrow with your eyes wide open. Be vulnerable to the creative triggers all around you. They are always there. It may take us some time to easily acknowledge their presence, but if you are truly open to the experience, it will happen. Don’t get frustrated if you find yourself struggling to recognize creative opportunity at first. I’m happily sharing some of my favorite triggers to get you started.
Blog Post Perfection
- Write Just One Thing and Write It Well - If you don’t read any Leo blogs, it’s high time you start.
- 8 Ways to Reclaim Your Childhood Creativity - I could read this LifeDev post 1000 times over.
- How to Avoid Prematurely Killing the Next Big Idea - Perfect for any of you “creativity beginners.”
- Whining, Blue Smoke and the Mechanics of Getting Unstuck - I go back often to re-read the paragraph about whining.
- Keep The Creative Juices Flowing - Tips For The Freelance Artist - Great advice even if you aren’t a freelancer.
- 5 Things That Become Easier When You Wake Up Early - I love this one because I’m a morning person anyway. It’s when I do my best writing.
- The Rise of the Creative Class - Richard Florida, you are my hero! His “creative class” concept is something I continuously referred back to for the huge collection of articles I wrote for BOOM Jackson.
Crafty Cues
- Amanda’s Scrapbook Room - I envision the other side of the pearly gates looking something like Amanda’s room.
- Lots and LOTS of Scrapbooking Links - Lists like these are why I believe the “I’m bored” excuse is a lame one.
- Page Maps Galore - These are inspiring for much more than just scrapbook layouts.
- Tutorial: Freezer Paper T-Shirts - I haven’t tried this yet but I am DYING to play around with it.
- Shabby Princess - A pioneer site in the world of digital scrapbooking.
- Donna Downey and Ali Edwards - my absolute FAVORITE creativity gurus. I could gush and gush about how inspiring both of these ladies are for me.
