I think a lot of us think of idea generation as separate from creating, and that in order to create, we need a good idea to execute on. I try to remember that creating is actually a mode of idea generation, that sometimes sitting down to make things opens our brains to inspiration instead of the other way around.
So I think the thing is just to make time and space to get into a focused state to make things — and specifically to make BAD things without having a plan or a great idea beforehand.
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There’s a chart I added below that’s helped me become an overall better creative. Inspiration comes and goes and often times is so flimsy that you can’t even trust it once it arrives! But being in the habit of creating breeds consistency. Creating for the sake of creating helps you develop a more efficient system + allows you understand yourself better.
What happens when you create by habit is that eventually inspiration will hit and when it does you’ll have been expecting it and prepared for it. An inspired moment combined with a system built on habit breeds amazing, truly inspired works of genius.
As someone who picked up writing two months ago and is now doing 2-3 articles a week for a newsletter, I’ve learned that I have to write regardless of whether inspiration is there or not. And when I do that, I often find myself getting inspired in the process of habit.
Final thought is that someone once told me creativity ebbs and flows and to get the good ideas out you need to release the bad ones. This means you have to create over and over and over to push out the crap and get to the gold. This only happens if you get into a habit of creating.
Hope this helps!
Apr 11, 2024
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A big part being creative requires giving yourself the time to sit in a space where your ideas can float for you to let them out.
Feb 4, 2024
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Recently, I haven't been feeling inspired to make music or play my instruments, idk why, rough few weeks ig. And as you might have seen, I also haven't been inspired to write some recs.
Erich Fromm once wrote that an artist must have knowledge in their field, and that they have to create, despite not having the right tools/object of creation, because if a painter spends years waiting for the perfect muse, when they find it, their skill won't be enough. This was an analogy to love, but I think it also applies as what it is at face value. If you don't create, you won't get to know what you like, to love the world through your art, and even if you find the perfect idea for a song, painting, etc. You might not be able to make it without that knowledge
Feb 10, 2025
Top Recs from @beatrix
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“Wanna be friends?” is an underutilized tactic in adulthood. Kindergarteners know what’s up.
Jul 9, 2024
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This is a type of walk I do almost every day. Walk in one direction until you hit a stoplight. Then immediately turn and walk in the new direction until you hit a stoplight and repeat until you get back home.
Mar 18, 2024
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I’m that open minded bitch
Aug 10, 2024