Why our creativity needs prompts

We have this strange expectation of ourselves and our creativity. And I want to get rid of that expectation, right here.

Creativity — broken down — is juxtaposing what you find intriguing about the world with a new perspective or way of looking at things. If we find something beautiful or intriguing, your brain is done. It’s done the work. It’s the new perspective we need to work towards.

Writers stare at blank pages, artists at empty canvases. Musicians sit at the piano, fingers resting aimlessly above the keyboard. Scientists try to dream up new experiments to test theories. You get the picture.

We get stuck.

And, we expect to find the solution in the wrong place. We go to the place that holds the thoughts, knowledge and emotions we already have: our brains. But creativity is about a NEW perspective. By definition, we won’t find that in our brains as they exist in that moment.

So we need to add a few ingredients. More thoughts. More emotions. More knowledge. Which is where prompts come in.

We could go out in the world for hours, days, years. We could search high and low for story ideas, subjects we find we have a passion for, things that make us want to draw, compose, make up jokes about, understand scientifically.

Or we could have prompts already at the ready.

Here’s an example: I’m a writer. I write about creativity, writing, emotion, passion, etc. I also do calligraphy. So I created a bag of 100 words and phrases — prompts written in calligraphy, of course — related to creativity, writing, emotion and passion. And whenever I need that new perspective — every morning, while I’m writing, when I need a new perspective or idea — I grab a coupla words from that bag. I triangulate those words with my creative block or just my ongoing thought process. And I move forward, instantly.

If you’d like, write to me and I’ll send you a sheet of paper with all my prompts. Cut them up, stick them in a bag, and you’ve got 100 prompts. Or, better yet, create your own.