Inspiration to Create

Most creative people are very hard on themselves. When they have a hard time letting themselves do the creative work they want to do, they call themselves lazy as their creativity turns to new and more inventive ways of beating themselves up. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and more than a dozen other books in the genre of creativity and self-help, advises, "Do not call the inability to start laziness. Call it what it is: fear." The Internet offers a plethora of ways to overcome the fear to begin creating. Inspiration specifically for creative people who wish to be more so, and even for people who only suspect they might be creative, abounds online.

Pinterest is an online pin board for collecting great ideas, many of them for creative projects. I've found recipes, homemade gift ideas, reference photos for sketching, and so much more there. One blogger I follow has seven children and she gets all their birthday party ideas from Pinterest, and they’re fabulous.

Etsy is an online shop specializing in small businesses. Most wares available on Etsy are handmade by one-woman operations, and a quick scroll on Etsy can provide ideas for creativity and how to monetize it into income, as well, which is an unbeatable combination!

Once again, Tumblr has a lot of fantastic resources, and it’s easy to join in the fun there. Quotes from Tumblr posts artistically rendered inspiring quotes from great novels. Most of the ultra-creative under-30 set have migrated to Tumblr from Facebook, and a lot of them are scrupulous about reblogging and promoting their followers’ work, so joining Tumblr is a great move for a fledgling artist. Searching for pencil, charcoal, sketch-a-day, sketchbet, or the featured tag "Artists on Tumblr" returns many hours' worth of inspiring content. Just don’t forget to turn that inspiration and its resulting ideas into actual creative work!

Do you want to write? Here are the two best sites, and you can use them both or pick the one that best suits your personality.

The 750words.com site is totally free, and completely private. 750 words per day is the goal. You can join a monthly challenge to write 750 words per day, every day. Its motivation is positive, with badges given at each of many milestone achievements (3 days, 5 days, 10 days, 30 days, etc.). You can also earn badges for behavior. Ultra focus, as measured by the site’s timers confirming that you wrote all of your words without any significant distraction or pause, can earn a new badge, as can being an early bird and getting them all done by 9am or a night owl who only writes between 10pm and dawn. This is my favorite tool for writers online. I use it daily (388 day streak going strong) and recommend it highly for writers.

If you’re a bit braver, or if gaining a cute little badge for your diligence doesn't appeal, there’s Write or Die.

They offer an inexpensive app for your mobile device, or you can use it on their website. Write or Die allows you to set a goal and a forgiveness capacity. If you stop typing before you reach your goal, woe betide you! Write or Die will provide consequences of the nastily unpleasant sort to get you moving again. They may not mean the "Die" part literally, but their consequences are mighty unpleasant and highly motivating.

Innovative motivation for creatives to overcome the fear and let themselves do what their heart most wishes is always turning up online. From time to time on this blog, we’ll revisit the latest and greatest ideas to inspire you. Now, go make something!