You are an artist, writer, or musician searching for inspiration. You are in your garage, studio, or bedroom and are ready to create your next piece. Everyone has their moments when everything is just right: the lighting is perfect, the words are spilling onto the page with ease, the music almost seems to write itself. Those moments are amazing.
What is stopping you at this moment though? Adopt one or more the four “methods” listed below and create something now.
Method #1: Word Vomit
The first thing any artist should do when suffering from writer’s block or a lack of inspiration is dump every thought that is cluttering their brain onto paper or a Word document. I call this Word Vomit. Write down the first word that comes to mind, and only write one word at a time.
Here’s an example:
Rain, towel, house, food, create, art, music, evacuate, rush, car, numbers, hope…
That was a short example, but you can see what is on my mind. Unfortunately, hurricane Irma has yet to decide which direction it’s going and I’m somewhat concerned today, however, I’m trying to remain focused. There is no reason to worry about making sense when it comes to using this method. Word Vomit gives you the opportunity to see where your mind is and recognize thought patterns that may help you decide what you should work on.
Method #2: The In-Between
The In-Between method sounds easy, but is complicated in practice. Listen, watch, read, or observe something that you love and/or enjoy. In contrast, listen, watch, read, or observe something that you dislike or hate. With those two things in mind, create something that has a mixture of both.
A good example of me using The In-Between method is when I combined a country song lyric (the thing I dislike) with a Soundgarden guitar riff (the thing I love). It wasn’t terrible, but I admit it, wasn’t great. Doing this brought me out of my comfort zone, and gave me a small dose of inspiration for writing some lyrics of my own.
Combine two different painting styles together and make something ugly. Watch a movie that you can’t stand and then watch a YouTube video that you really enjoy, and write a script that involves the similarities between the two. Read a boring pamphlet from work or school and then read the funnies from your local newspaper: work with The In-Between.
Method #3: The Bio-Pic Composition
What’s your biggest dream for your creation? The song you’re about to compose or the painting you’re on the verge of creating – think BIG! Imagine you are about to make the greatest thing mankind has ever seen. Maybe your creation will be seen by future historians as the beginning of a new era. Day dream that your art and your life will change the world so drastically that directors will be clawing to take on the task of making a movie about you (Bio-Pic). Take the stress and anxiety of those thoughts, and develop the best work of art you’ve ever made.
It is 98.934% likely that your Bio-Pic Composition will become garbage (statistic was made up if you couldn’t guess). After this though, you should settle down, reset your brain, and realize that it’s not all that serious. Your art should be fun and enjoyable.
Method #4: Limitation
Using the Limitation method is one of my personal favorites. It’s very simple – limit the tools, words, or amount of time you use to work on your project. When drawing or painting, simply limit yourself to only using one or two colors. If you’re writing poetry or a blog, limit how often you use a certain word. I wrote a song and the only chord I used was A. I used variations of the chord, and sang in a way that made it so it wasn’t so boring.
The word limitation usually has a negative connotation with it, but it’s a great exercise that forces a person to use what they have available to them.
I want to encourage you to be uncomfortable and use one of these methods to help you reach your goal. Set aside fear and create something now.
If any of these methods help you, please comment and share this with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
