Welcome Glassies, to your guide to life. This series takes a deep dive into all your pressing need-to-knows (how to be a student politician, how to do the Bookfest like a pro, and how to survive toxic workplaces) and offers comprehensive guides so that you can live your Best Glassie Life™.
This edition is A Glassie’s Guide to Creative Inspiration.
If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’ve already tried listening to music, going for walks in the park, or journaling. But still, you’re left staring so long at a bare canvas that you have a tension headache. Meanwhile, your typed-up short story draft – with an ultra-specific title that you can’t remember for the life of you – collects computational dust as you start your next project. We’ve all been there; unknowing of how to put your buzzing thoughts out there and, at the same time, feeling completely empty.
One thing about me is that my brain is a museum. Not a museum you’d find in Europe; more like the Queensland Museum in South Bank – except when you enter, it’s just a thrift shop full of garden ornaments and lots of misplaced socks. It’s not a very spectacular place inside my head, but it sure does make my shower thoughts interesting. As an added bonus, it means that I’m usually bouncing several creative ideas around at the one time.
I don’t really like the word “creativity”, because the verb “create” implies bringing something into existence that wasn’t there to start with. I think most tips on how to spark creativity simplify what the process of making things actually is. You’re not “creating” something new, you’re just reorganising things that are already there.
I’m a firm believer that everyone is born with this skill, and there are many ways to use it. But we often lose this innate ability when we finish our formative years and become busy with work, tertiary study, and other commitments. So, here are my 3 tips on how to bring forth creative inspiration.
Be observant… of your own mind.
There’s a lot of power in stopping and being in tune with your mind. I don’t mean you have to meditate and analyse your trauma responses, A.K.A why you can’t cry in front of your therapist. God no, I’m watching TikTok on full volume while Young Sheldon plays in the background – and I have a book in my lap to avoid pondering my deep, internal loneliness. I just mean that you should be taking moments to pause and record random thoughts that come to your head throughout the day. These can be minuscule; a one sentence thought. Even the ones that seem monotonous or don’t make sense to you. In fact, take note of these ones especially. Here are a few thoughts I had while driving to the café where I’m now writing this Glassie’s Guide:
“I want to lick this bus window so badly, and I don’t know why. My tongue just desperately wants to feel it’s cold, smooth texture. But I won’t.” (I didn’t, fyi).
“I love walking through tiny gaps and twists and turns, rather than on the designated pathway. No one notices these passages. It makes me feel like I’m a Hobbit.”
“Man, I’m excited for my coffee… I wish I didn’t rely on coffee as my main motivator to get up in the morning.”
Simple stuff, nothing poetic that screams an idea for an award-winning novel, just random thoughts that you compile into a folder in your Notes app or journal. It is your weirdness and your own beautiful mind that drives creativity. Some of the greatest ideas started as a rough concept. Essentially every topic has already had art made about it, but, if you add nuggets from your internal dialogue, there’s no way your take won’t be unique.
Don’t sit down and plan moments in your day where you’re going to be conscious of your thoughts. It’s not authentic this way. And I’m going to say the annoying thing, but the more you do this, the easier and more natural it will feel.
You can also come back to your internal-thought-list when you’re having a brain funk, and it could trigger ideas to get the ball rolling. Or at the very least, it can be a sanctuary for your slightly unambiguous thoughts.
Have weird conversations with others.
While I also love an introspective heart-to-heart or debate about the state of the world, don’t forget the power of a wacky conversation for provoking ideas too. Actually, it’s the weird chats with friends that have nudged my creativity more so than serious ones.
Everything you need to create already exists in your mind, but sometimes it helps to say it aloud to realise it’s there. There are many ways to bring fresh ideas to light, but I’ve found that just talking (without a plan to create something) is one of the best ways to do it. So, ask your co-workers the unhinged “would-you-rather’s”, send your bestie TikToks at 3am – you never know what conversations or ideas could spark from this!
Remember that there’s many ways to be creative.
Being creative doesn’t always mean painting or making a song. It can be anything, in any field. A scientist’s central idea behind a research report is inherently creative, because it’s the act of wanting to investigate an area that hasn’t been looked into before from a unique angle. A marketer’s idea for a new product is creative as well as analytical, because they’re using consumer insights together with innovating something that people need and want.
Heck, even thinking of an idea for a costume party is creative!
So, you shouldn’t be hard on yourself, or think you’re “not creative enough”, or compare yourself to others. We are all imaginative and express ourselves in different ways. This being said, it’s also normal to go through ruts, especially during busy or difficult times in our lives. Self-judgement is the enemy of creative inspiration (unless you’re trauma dumping in the form of a poem – a frequent post-wine activity for me) and usually limits our ability to produce a meaningful body of work.
To me, “creativity” isn’t making something completely new out of thin air. It’s filling gaps in pre-existing things. Just allowing yourself to be, and noticing things around you is one of the best ways to inspire long-term creativity.
