We’ve all been there. You sit down to write (or otherwise be creative) and you just come up short. You’re in a creative rut and you need to snap out of it. You want to get the creative juices flowing again.
Tongal Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer James DeJulio recommends watching this great speech about creativity by John Cleese in which he stresses the importance of being open in order to channel creativity. Of course he says, “Telling people how to be creative is easy. It’s only being it that’s difficult.”
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So, in the spirit of openness and striving to BE creative, I polled some of my fellow Tongal colleagues and asked them for their favorite tips and resources when it comes to stretching their creative muscles. Their answers were creative, to say the least:
READ:
- I find reading about existing tropes and cliches to be a great way to get new ideas or have fun turning tired concepts on their heads. It's one of those "know the rules before you break them" things. The site covers way more than just TV: movies, books, comics...pretty much all of fiction. Plus it's just a fascinating read. -- Matt Sweeney, Creative Strategist
- Brain Pickings is a blog that features inspirational snippets across different disciplines: art, science, psychology, design, history, politics, etc. I really enjoy reading incredible stories that have a lesson that can be applied to what we do -- or who we are. It's useful to take a break from our busy schedule and put things into perspective. -- Daniel Besquin, Director of Strategy
- Elizabeth Gilbert had crazy success with her best seller "Eat, Pray, Love" and then lived in fear that she'd be a one hit wonder. Her newest book "Big Magic" explores how to incorporate creativity into your life by facing your fears and following your curiosity. I love how she’s not afraid to talk about the magical, otherworldliness of creativity. -- Ingrid Vining (me), VP of Community
LISTEN:
- I love listening to the My Favorite Murder podcast. The genre-bending-ness of female comedians telling dark crime stories is unique, entertaining, and sometimes educational. -- Rachel Feinberg, Creative Project Manager
- I listen to the "Writing-Instrumental Movie Music" playlist on Spotify while writing or working intensely. It seems like soundtracks carry with them vibrant imagery and complex emotions due to the stories and images they pair with in films. Even if I can't recall the soundtrack's original home (which is almost never), I can still feel something during the piece. I think this constant stimulation helps me keep the creative engine turning when creating or analyzing a problem. -- Chris Neighbors, Creative Project Manager
WATCH:
- Vimeo is a great place to find inspiration. When I was thinking about producing a short film, I headed over to Vimeo to watch other shorts. I learned a lot about what worked and didn't work for the medium and reached out to a number of filmmakers to learn more about their process. I probably watched over a hundred hours worth of video content within a 2-month period. I also like perusing their Staff Picks section -- there's always something new to discover there. -- Maddie Mindling, Manager of Community Support and Analytics
- The Naked Gun movies make me laugh and lighten the mood, which opens me up to new ideas. -- Collin Rich, Head of Business Operations
DO:
- Oblique Strategies encourages lateral thinking by forcing me to look at problems in new and different perspectives whether to break out of routine patterns of thought, and think about new places to find answers or inspirations. The brilliance is that the cards can be used in a multitude of ways - from a singular card to an arrangement of cards in a way that best serves your inspirational needs. -- Phil Loeb, Post Production Specialist
And, finally, Tongal Co-Founder Mark Burrell is especially passionate about this topic and provided the following list of additional inspiration resources:
- MasterClass: Online video courses taught by experts like Ron Howard, Helen Mirren, Shonda Rhimes and Hans Zimmer.
- Iconoclasts: A documentary series on the Sundance Channel that pairs up creative visionaries to discuss their life’s work.
- The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling: Judd Apatow’s intimate documentary about comic Garry Shandling.
- Creativity, Inc.: A book by Ed Catmull about the unique philosophy and culture of Pixar and what makes creativity thrive.
- American Masters: A PBS TV series that highlights some of the most creative minds in American History.
- Storynomics: Robert McKee connects the dots between storytelling and business success.
- Here’s The Thing: Alec Baldwin’s podcast in which he interviews artists, policy makers and performers.
- Live from New York: A great deep-dive into the history of Saturday Night Live as told by its stars, writers and guests.
- Ted Talks: Powerful and inspiring talks about a wide variety of different topics ranging from Architecture to 3D Printing to Work-Life Balance.
Have you tried any of these creative hacks? Do you have any other resources you’d recommend for a creative shake-up? Share your own inspiration in the comments below. When all else fails, revisit Tongal's Exercises in Creativity post for even more ways to beef up your creative output.
