How to Generate Creative Ideas: Tips for Writers

If you are a writer, you will have days/week/ a lifetime of having to motivate yourself! Being a writer is NOT easy. It is fulfilling, emancipating *insert other big passionate words here* but it is NOT  easy to turn a free-spirited, passion into a job with deadlines and time bound responsibilities. Often I find myself in the following situations. Feel free to laugh at my plight:D
Expectation: Once I start writing, I will be unstoppable. Come rain, Come storm, come apocalypse I will be unperturbed.What be creativity and where does it come from? How many times have you asked yourself this question? I, myself, have asked it too often!

Does it come from the heavens? It is a fiction of your mind? Is there a spiritual archive that you visit and pull out ideas?

Plato came out with an interesting though that involved that ideas come from some sort of heaven. For me, it is something like descending to a park, walking and stumbling around, until you find that right idea. However, most importantly, none of this matter!

It doesn’t matter where ideas come from. What matter, is how you are able to come up with it! You do not bang your head against the wall for an idea, that just gives your brain damage.

There is no hard and fast rule to getting idea. You have to develop your own process. Key here is process because you can’t wait for an idea to flutter in front of you. You have to work for it. Different things, work for different people. This is what I’ve observed what other people do.

Take a Walk

Exercise sends blood and oxygen to your brain and stimulates it. You don’t have to specifically take a walk, jogging, skating and cycling work too. The idea is for you to put some stress on your body, break a sweat and burn some energy. The physical stimulation will lead to a mental one and as you are out on the street, you never know what may give you an idea.

Forget About it

Stop breaking your head about it. Let the idea come to you. The constant pressure and cycle of trying to come up with an idea will tire your mind. So give yourself a break. Read a book, watch a movie or play some games. Do something that will take your mind of it.

Either an idea will strike you out of the blue while you are engrossed in that activity or when you tackle it with a fresh mind.

Dream

You don’t necessary have to do something to get the idea. You can just dream, get lost in the maze that your mind is. Listen to some music, look at the stars, lie on your bed, just dream. Let random ideas float in your mind until you find the right one.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm is one of the best ways to kickstart a brain that is not willing to give you ideas. Once a colleague comes up with an idea, you want to give one too and each other idea is better than the last. Collectively, you will discuss ideas, make them into something better and until you are satisfied. Brainstorming can be done with a group of friend or by just two people. It is all about the ideas you put there, not the number of people that are bought to the table.

There is no hard and fast rule, there is no road with directional posts to point out the way, dig your own path and find what works with you.

The beauty of pursing ideas is that they are always churning at the back of your mind and it will hit you in the most unexpected time. Be sure to note it down. An idea is often fleeting and a minute later and you won’t remember!