How's it going, folks? I know, same old story, sorry for my inactivity. I haven't really drawn anything since last October, and even currently, the stress as well as a lot of preparation to branch out into multiple new jobs are driving me a little too nuts to even consider it again.
But there's good news too, namely that I will likely soon offer new services, from reopening sketch commissions over writing commissions to individual one-on-one coaching for anything around your stories, to bring them to life. More to that when time is near, but I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me if you're interested, and in which of those specifically.
Now, enough with the rambling and on with today's special tips!
Tips to fuel your Creativity
I personally don't know any writer who hasn't been stuck at least once in their life, out of ideas or wanting to write a story in the first place, but the muse refuses to kiss. Well, I've got a couple things here that have always worked for me and many others, and those make sure to get your creativity flowing!
Your favorite songs.
Pick some of your favorite songs or just skip through your music at random and note down the songs, in order or not, that's up to you. Try to write down what the songs make you feel and imagine, and google the lyrics. Can you derive ideas and/or construct a premise from that?
In my experience, it's been one of those methods that spawned new ideas without me even trying, and entire character concepts have found their beginning in songs. Try it! Even if it doesn't work wonders for you, you've wasted no time because listening to music is awesome anyway^^
Tarot cards, or just plain old playing cards.
Hell yeah, I've somehow discovered this method for myself since I've found some cheesy old tarot cards between my stuff that someone gifted to me as a kid, and while I've never believed in them or used them as they were intended to, they made for fun little games. You can easily derive prompts from them by shuffling them and blindly drawing a number of cards and line them up in that order. Let yourself be inspired by the symbol language, the pictures, or just look up on the internet what these are supposed to mean. You'll have a beginning, middle and end in no time if you only draw as little as three cards.
Alternatively, you can do the same with playing cards. There is some sort of system as to how you can use them as tarot cards, with every symbol standing for an element and/or an aspect of the self, and each number for a milestone along the journey of life. Just look it up, it's easy to find.
Personally, I've taken to combining these methods and creating a schema that gave me some interesting input already.
Dice, coins, etc.
Who didn't hear of tabletop-RPGs using dice and coins yet? With a system where each number stands for a specific type of genre, setting, quest, rewards, character types and whatever you like, or you just want a little luck factor involved, this is a nifty little trick. Sure, it might take some thinking to figure out what stands for what, so consider your options and note them down. If you want true randomness and even easier handling, visit random.org and play with the number generators. They are so useful!
Nostalgia.
Now we're getting adventurous. Go into the basement (or attic, wherever you keep those things which you didn't have the heart to throw away yet) and see what random things you find, or what childhood memories pop up when you find old stuff. Note it all down. Can you spin a story from them?
What old family heirlooms do you have, and what's the story behind them? What can your old relatives tell you from their youth? Can you use that?
If all of that is not an option, there are great generators out there that can just come up with a bunch of random stuff for you instead, but it will be less personal, and thus harbor less potential to create a little anecdote from it.
Crystals, minerals and jewelry.
If you happen to possess something like that, think about what they mean to you. Or look up their alleged meaning on the internet. There will be lots of esoteric sites that advertise their meaning. No need to take them literally, just as a reference for character traits, abilities or plot devices. If you don't have crystals or don't know their names, there are crystal/gem generators on the internet too. This also works with flowers, herbs, colors, shapes and whatnot.
Usually, I only use this method as an auxiliary one, additionally to the card method or the trick with the songs, for example. Mixing methods surely yield more original results.
Stories that have already been written.
Books, random news articles, magazines, whatever is at hand can aid you in spinning something of your own. Pick a number of random pages and/or lines, note down the sentence your finger blindly points at, and try to create a premise or plot point from them. Look for news sites or watch it on TV. Reality is crazier than fiction, and you just can't make up stories like those life writes sometimes.
Watch people.
No, I don't mean creeping on them...necessarily. XD
If you just sit somewhere in the street or a mall or another public place, enjoying a drink or snack, or pretend to read a book/be occupied with your phone or have your ear plugs in with the music off - it doesn't matter as long as you can follow conversations, note down memorable features, speech patterns or habits people have, which greatly helps if you try to humanize and round your character, make them more realistic and relatable. It gets even funnier if said people think they're unobserved.
I hope at least one of those works for you, but don't hesitate to experiment and try out all of them. Writing is a journey on which you discover yourselves too, after all.
I wish you a nice day. Seminon out~