Evelyn Lim asked:
Many complain of writer’s block. They don’t know how to get their creative juice going enough to start. On several occasions, it would appear that it is not a simple feat to simply just begin putting down thoughts into words and then typing out a content. Also, you well know that good content is what captivates the interest of your readers and for them to keep on reading. With this in mind, you tend to freeze up and fuss over what to write and how exactly to churn out good content.
The main ingredient in a good article is a large dose of creativity. Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help in developing the reader’s imagination. You need to weave word by word, sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph to produce an enticing article.
So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There are no surefire ways to get the perfect ideas but there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing. Here are seven of them to get you into the mood for creative article writing:
1) Relax and take a break. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. A clear mind is needed if one wishes to have creativity flowing at full speed. Get rid of all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay focused. If you really want to write but finding it hard to, then take a break first. Go bake a cake or water the plants.
2) Keep a journal with you always. Ideas can be triggered by anything that you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard. You can leverage on and improve on someone’s ideas. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it’s the development of the idea that makes it unique.
3) Take time to reflect. Think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences make you unique. Discover yourself and find out what triggers your emotions, what inspires you and what ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas. Expressing emotions can result in great creativity.
4) Work in an environment that encourages you to relax and to inspire your creativity. Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind. An environment that is distracting won’t be conducive in firing up your creative flow.
5) Set the mood. Some have found that light music in the background makes them feel lighthearted and settles their mind. There are other ways, of course to set the mood. Some writers have been known to use a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination. There are others who let the lighting of the environment create the mood. For myself, I prefer that my telephone or handphone doesn’t ring. I switched them all off!
6) Take the time to laugh. Having a sense of humour helps ease the stress that you are feeling. Also, the ability and chance to laugh helps put things on a fresh perspective.
7) Lastly, do something different! Be adventurous and try something new and challenging. It can be skydiving, wakeboarding, rock climbing, whatever. That way, you will have a new experience to write about. Keep your mind and life active – and readers to your works will never get bored!