5 Ways To Give Your Creative Writing A New Lease Of Life

Does your creative writing feel a little predictable and samey lately? Do you find you always fall back to the same kind of words and phrases, the same kind of ideas?

A fantastic tool for giving your creative writing a new lease of life are creative writing prompts.

Here are 5 ways they can give your writing the boost it needs:

1. A new starting place gives a new perspective. When you write beginning from somewhere completely new, you can't help but have a different outlook to the ones you're familiar with. This fresh perspective encourages you to write with different eyes, in a way you may not have thought of before.

2. You can focus your energy on your writing, not on struggling for ideas. If you feel short of ideas then much of your creative energy seems to get sucked away desperately trying to find something interesting to write about. Creative writing prompts give you that different starting point so you can use your energy to focus on writing, not fretting about a lack of ideas.

3. You're more free to experiment. Writing on your own it's all too easy to stick to safe and trusted methods, even if it does mean you write virtually the same poem or story over and over again. Just by using writing prompts you're giving your creativity the green light, saying "I'm trying something new here, go with it and let's see what we can come up with." And you're creativity will be happy to oblige.

4. You write more, so you evolve more. You can write a short piece using a writing prompt in 5 or 10 minutes. With each new work, you've become a little more experienced, confident and flexible as a writer. This allows you to evolve more quickly meaning all of your writing benefits from a new depth of richness.

5. You put the fun back in writing. If you've been stuck in your writing lately, you'll have realised it's not much fun. Painful, more like. With writing prompts, you take off this pressure and instead begin with the attitude of enjoying your writing, experimenting and seeing where it leads. This new energy then spills over and enhances all your writing.

These are 5 great ways you can use creative writing prompts to give your writing a fresh injection of energy and start seeing more of your writing potential come to the fore.

Ready to get started with some creative writing prompts and exercises right away? Then I invite you to get your FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com.

The Secret Formula To Abundant Creativity That No-One Talks About

Increasing your creativity, when it comes down to it, is a simple mathematical formula.

Now hang on, before you either run for the hills or start snoring at the mention of the phrase "mathematical formula", this isn't going to tax your mind too much at all! So give it a chance.

CO = CM - CR

Just kidding, here's what that really means in English:

Creative Output = Creative Motivation - Creative Resistance

How much you create is how much you want to create minus how much creative resistance you have.

So, to increase your creativity, to create more, you can do one of two things:

1. Increase your creative motivation

We often get so stuck in the analysis of why we're NOT creating, that we forget how much we love creating and how important creativity is in our lives. Try to imagine if you can, a life without creativity. Picture your life without a single act of creativity. How would that look, what would it be like?

If you're like most creative people, it would be a kind of living torture. Creating is deeply embedded in who we are and what we do. It's not a lifestyle choice or an optional extra. Being creative is engraved in our identities and our personalities. We don't just do creative things, we ARE creative beings.

A great way of increasing your creative motivation is to regularly spend time getting back in touch with how much you love creating, how valuable it is to you, and what an essential part of life it is. Once you do that, you'll instantly gain all the motivation you need to create.

2. Decrease your creative resistance

Even with a high level of motivation, there's no guarantee you'll create freely and abundantly. Why? Remember the formula, your creative output is your motivation minus your resistance. And we always have some form of creative resistance.

Maybe it's in the form of other people telling us our creative pursuits are a waste of time. Maybe it's our own negative thinking and inner doubts about whether we have the talent to create. Maybe it's a fear of failure. Most likely it's a potent mix of all of these.

The crucial aspect here is we ALL experience resistance to creating. And we always will. If you fight it, it only gets stronger. Your internal resistance to creating is just trying to protect you from disappointment and pain. But you're strong enough to overcome that if it happens.

Against what may be the most logical approach, the only way we can create even though we're experiencing resistance is to say "Yes, I'm aware I'm experiencing some resistance, and I know it's a way of trying to protect myself. But creating is very important to me and I'm going to carry on and create anyway."

Work on either of these two aspects and you'll be more creative. Work on both and your creativity will reach levels you might not have even dreamed of!

Would you like to get your creativity kick-started today? Then download your free copy of the powerful and practical Explode Your Creativity! Action Workbook at http://www.CoachCreative.com.

How To Beat Procrastination - You Can Take This Important First Step TODAY

Procrastination is the art of managing to find anything else to do instead of the thing you actually really want and need to get going on.

All of us suffer from having procrastination habits to different extents and it's often creative people who, due to that inherent creativity, manage to take procrastination to new inventive levels, whilst all the time convincing themselves they're not actually procrastinating at all.

This common mind trick is so clever we don't even see that it is a mind trick most of the time and instead truly believe that all the little, fairly trivial, tasks we preoccupy ourselves with are urgent and essential and nothing else can possibly be done before they're taken care of.

Here are some procrastination examples, see which resonate most with you:

"I'd love to do some creative work but I need to reorganise my paints and brushes first. I can't possibly start painting if my colours aren't in order."

"I need to just catch up with a few emails then I'll start creating. If I know I have loads of unread messages in my inbox and keep hearing more come through I just get anxious and won't be able to focus on creating."

"I want to do some new sketches but many of my pencils are broken. I need to go through and make sure they're all sharpened and ready, in case I need to use all of them. In fact I probably will need to go out and get some new spare pencils in case I run out."

"I will get down to creating right after the end of this episode of my favourite sitcom. Oh actually the next episode is one of the funniest of this season, I might just watch that too. Then I'll be in a better mood and I can start creating..."

Sound familiar?

In each of these, we convince ourselves that doing the activity in question is the magic solution that's going to help us suddenly feel creative and inspired. If that was the case, it'd be great. But it's not. Because once you've done one of the above "urgent" tasks, another will come along. And then another.

Put simply, you're procrastinating, but you won't admit it to yourself.

And this is the crucial first step to beating procrastination and reclaiming your creativity. Admit that yes, like all of us do, you too sometimes get caught up in procrastination habits that suck hours of time, time you could be spending creating those projects most important to you.

It's nothing to be ashamed of or afraid of, we ALL procrastinate.

But it's only when you admit it, when you stop and say "Yes I procrastinate, when I really just want to be able to create more", that you can start to recognise how and when you procrastinate and beat those habits that've stunted your creativity for so long.

So take that step today. It could be the most important step you ever take for your creativity.

If you're ready to beat procrastination and set your creativity free in the next 21 days, I invite you to check out the powerful ecourse "7 Steps To Freedom: How To Beat Procrastination And Set Your Creativity Free" at http://www.HowToBeatProcrastination.com

For your free 7 article series on the first steps to beating procrastination, head over to http://www.CoachCreative.com/procrastinationarticles.html

7 Ways A Creative Community Can Sky-Rocket Your Creativity

Sometimes being a creative artist can feel like the loneliest role in the world. Few of us are strong enough alone to keep our motivation high and creativity consistent. The best way to be more creative and more inspired is to get a little help from some creative friends.

So here are 7 of the top ways that being part of a creative community can sky-rocket your creativity to new levels:

1. You don't feel you're the only one in the world struggling to create. Being a part of a community you can share in the struggles and triumphs of other creative people like you, and realise there are common issues most creative people wrestle with, and can help each other overcome.

2. Opportunities for collaboration with other artists. After a short time in a creative community you find creative people who you connect with and who create in similar forms. Joining up for a joint creative project is a great way to motivate and inspire you and take your creativity in new directions.

3. It makes your creative work "real" and valid. Much of the time when we create alone, it's easy to fall into the "tree falling in the forest" syndrome and begin to wonder if no-one else ever sees what you create, does it really even exist? Sharing your work in a safe supportive group gives your work validity and makes it real.

4. It gives you a playground to experiment in. A huge part of being creative is experimenting and trying new stuff. Having a captive, supportive audience in a creative community gives you the encouragement to do this, and allows you to stumble across those wonderful happy accidents you can never have if you create in exactly the same way day in day out.

5. You tap into an endless stream of ideas. Discussing creativity with other creative people sparks off dozens of new ideas and possible directions you won't discover sitting there alone talking to yourself. The stimulation of communicating with like minded creatives then taking these ideas and this energy back to your creative projects is a large part of the creative process.

6. You meet real, living breathing artists, with lives like yours. There's a myth that to be creative in an authentic way you have to be a world famous novelist, film maker or rock star. Being a part of a community helps you realise that ALL of us create in ways that are just as important and valid, and this inspires you to create more.

7. You can give and receive genuine support and feedback. A supportive creative community encourages each member to share their work and gives them encouragement and feedback in a safe environment. You also get to be a part of supporting other artists and seeing how valuable a contribution you can have to the creative evolution of others.

These are 7 of the top ways being part of a creative community can sky-rocket your own creativity to new levels.

And with that in mind, I'd like to invite you to CoachCreativeSpace, a thriving interactive creative community space for you to learn how to be as creative as you've always known you can be.

You'll find Creative Forums, Groups, Artwork and Blogs to share in and contribute to, and supportive like minded creative people who are experiencing some of the same challenges and triumphs you are. Check it out now, at:

http://www.CoachCreativeSpace.com

How To Beat Procrastination - Why Analysis Only Leads To Creative Paralysis

Procrastination is a deadly assassin, infiltrating your creative habits when you're not looking, creeping up and claiming huge chunks of time you could be using to create.

One of the reasons procrastination is so powerful and such an enemy to creativity, is because it's so stealthy and subtle. Before you've realised what's happening, another day has disappeared with most of it spent on small, fairly meaningless tasks and very little creating.

So once we admit that procrastination is an issue that all of us face as creative people, what's the best way to overcome it?

IS there a way to overcome it, or should we resign ourselves to a life of fleeting moments of creativity in between oceans of unproductive time?

The seemingly obvious answer is to find out WHY you procrastinate. Surely once you know why you procrastinate, you'll be able to stop procrastinating. Right?

Well, unfortunately that just doesn't work. Here's the kind of logical reasoning that usually follows:

"OK, so I finally admit it, procrastination is an issue, I spent a lot of time on trivial stuff like checking my email every 10 minutes, and doing unnecessary "research" on how to create, rather than just getting down to creating.

To beat these procrastination habits, I've got to find out why I procrastinate. So... Maybe it's because I'm working on a creative project I'm not really passionate about, something I feel I SHOULD be doing rather than something I really enjoy?

Maybe I'm scared of getting too far with the project then getting stuck and having to abandon it, adding to my growing collection of unfinished projects?

Maybe I'm procrastinating because deep down I feel guilty about creating, and don't feel I deserve to have time to create just for me. So I end up doing other things to avoid making this creative time feel so self indulgent?"

And I'm sure you could go on and come up with a few pages of possible reasons WHY you procrastinate to avoid creating...

All you then end up with is a list of perfectly feasible reasons why you procrastinate. Every one of them probably has some truth, and has some influence on why you don't create more.

But all you've done is give yourself more ammunition for procrastinating!

"No wonder I've been procrastinating so much recently, look at all these reasons stacked up against me! It's amazing I even pick up a pen or a paintbrush at all!"

Result? You create EVEN LESS than before.

Endless analysis leads only to creative paralysis.

So what's the alternative?

Focus on the reality of your procrastinating habits, and look at the HOW and the WHEN. Once you begin - objectively and without judgement - to find the times and situations when you're most likely to procrastinate, and the ways you're most likely to procrastinate, you're in an informed and empowered position.

Forget about the WHY and endless analysis. Start observing the WHEN and the HOW of your procrastinating.

Only then can you take the next steps to finally beating procrastination and freeing your creativity from its stranglehold.

And if you're ready to beat procrastination and set your creativity free in the next 21 days, check out the powerful ecourse "7 Steps To Freedom: How To Beat Procrastination And Set Your Creativity Free" at http://www.HowToBeatProcrastination.com

For your free 7 article series on the first steps to beating procrastination, head over to http://www.CoachCreative.com/procrastinationarticles.html

The Art Of Procrastination - How To Waste Time And Get Absolutely Nothing Done

Calling all creatives! Are you ready to learn 5 top techniques in the art of procrastination? Follow even one or two of these and you'll successfully get absolutely nothing creative done, day after day, week after week, year after year!

1. Make sure you get everything else done before you start creating. This includes taking every item off every shelf in your house and thoroughly cleaning it, making certain that every item in everyone's wardrobe is crisply ironed and ready to wear, and that you've planned and prepared for every meal of the day for the next 7 weeks at least.

2. Don't create anything unless the conditions are absolutely perfect. You must have every last detail in place, all your supplies and equipment ready, a clear 5 hour time slot set aside, the room at the right temperature to the nearest hundredth of a degree and be wearing the right clothes. Oh, and be in the right mood to create of course. Only then can you start creating!

3. Keep your email and phone alerts on at all times when you go to create. This will ensure that each time you get an urgent email about little blue pills or foolproof stock market opportunities you can attend to it right away. You can also make sure you take all those essential calls from people wanting to sell you stuff you'll never want or need...

4. Don't even think about creating with equipment and materials that are incomplete or close to running out. If even one tube in your set of 128 paints is less than half full you must go out and replace it right away. There's no way you can create with fewer paints than you have. This applies to whatever creative form you work in, have your supplies 100% topped up at all times. In fact, even better, add more new stuff than you'll ever need, just in case.

5. Don't ever admit you procrastinate. That would be a foolish sign of weakness, and if you did that you might realise there are ways you can overcome it! Stay deeply entrenched in denial and tell yourself that writing one poem or painting one picture a year is a prolific output and you never waste time and avoid creating.

Follow these 5 fabulous techniques for procrastinating and you'll be able to rejoice in the fact that you never get anything done, despite telling yourself it's everyone else's fault and you have absolutely no control over when, where, and how much you create!

Congratulations, you've mastered the art of procrastination!

(But don't admit it to yourself, that'd ruin tip no 5!)

If, in fact, you ARE ready to beat procrastination and set your creativity free in the next 21 days, I'd like to invite you to check out the powerful ecourse "7 Steps To Freedom: How To Beat Procrastination And Set Your Creativity Free" at http://www.HowToBeatProcrastination.com