How do you Harness your Creativity?

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As the topic implies, this is one aspect of my art and writing I have always had trouble grasping and I was hoping that maybe someone here had figured it out. Right now I have a countless number of concepts for stories floating through my head for a webcomic idea and I even have many of the detailed scenes and plot climaxes thought out but when I try to actually work on the spaces inbetween these various disconnected scenes I feel lost.

I notice the same problem in alot of my artwork. I'll have a picture in my head (a pose for the character, a few details about the outfit, the pose, and the facial expression, for example) but when I go to put that idea onto paper I end up drawing the details I had imagined but unable to come up with the missing pieces. If I do try to imagine the whole scene before drawing it I end up staring at a blank piece of paper for a half an hour, eventually feeling completely overwhelmed by the project. It is maddening.

Has anyone else had this problem? Have you found a way to deal with it if you have?

I start with the detail too.

I sometimes write sheet music and I always start with a very small fragment or few notes. I have no idea where the rest comes from, it just sort of grows as though it has a life of its own.

I work through from beginning to end and when I start I can never see more than a few notes ahead so I have no idea how long the piece will be. It is only when I get to within a few bars that I can feel the peice is about to end.

It's weird.

At work once someone was getting married and a colleague asked if I would draw a bride and groom on the office whiteboard.

So I started and they said "what's that?". They couldn't understand that I was starting with the flowers that the bride was holding.

I currently have about 3 story ideas swirling round my mind... It is making me annoyed because I just can't get my ideas into order...

Stephen King put it best when he said "Beginnings and Ends are b*****s.". The only solution for me is to charge in with my music and writing. With the music I just fool around with my guitar untill I feel the notes "fit" together and lyrics bind them together right. The song that took the longest for me is "Bleeding Hearts and Black Lights" (I'll try and upload it to a music service and share it with you guys)

For writing just follow the images you get - always worked for me.

I usually just play around, find something I like which starts as a seed to build everything else off of.

I do music though, no writing.

Sometimes listening to music or just general experience can give me an idea.

When listening to music, I am constantly imagining new parts I could add.

What is difficult though, is when I make one section of a song. Then want to add a B section... it sometimes is very difficult to create something which is different enough yet still sound like it fits with the music.

I have many starts to songs, which are just 8-12 bars... but I haven't been able to create any more.

A lot of people have this problem. Usually the ideas come to me in dreams and I write them the way I remember them, with changes to help with the flow. If you can't think for a while, take a break and see if the ideas come to you; don't try to come with ideas. You find what you're looking for when you least expect it. Hope this helps

when it comes to writing, the best thing you can do is write everything down. once you've gotten a basic idea down on paper you can stop worrying about trying to remember it and you can dwell on new ideas. If you're looking for inspiration, you just have to try and find to times and places that inspire you. I get a lot of creative buzz from long walks and strangely enough, when I'm in the shower. when it comes to filling in missing scenes, improvise. come up with little quirks, character relations, side stories, plot development, character development, anything, just freewrite it all. you can't expect to come up with a fully formed story immeadiatly, or even once you begin. sometimes you just have to knuckle down and keep going, even if you don't know where you're headed. Don't expect it to be a work of art, expect it to be s**t, then, with time and percerverence, you'll improve as a writer and so will your work. you cant' create soemthign worthwhile without first being an absolute novice beforehand.

Yes, I find that helps

I'm glad those 7 years of creative practice have come to some use them

whenever im going through writers block i dont force myself to write anything...i just sit around and wait till it goes away

The core problem is creativity is mostly rooted in inattention. But getting little to no work done is also often rooted inattention. Which means the most creative people produce the least amount. An insane homeless man alone under a bridge laughing at his own daydreams for example is about as highly creative as a person can get.

A highly focused person that can get alot of work done might be extremely boring uncreative person.

I assume those that do get alot creative work done have some how found a balance in the extremes. But I think such people might be rare.

Treating inattention with stimulants can give a person the focus to get more work done but it likely reduces creativity to. Maybe spending part of the day thinking off stimulants and part working on them might help find a proper balance. So ounce you have the idea in your mind mostly worked out. Drink a big cup of coffee and draw it.

That's interesting. Where does the connection between creativity and inattention come from...

I've found my best ideas come... while I am trying to do something else. (or should be doing something else)

Procrastination creativity... or something.

Its related to brain waves.

beta : alert focused
alpha: relaxed
theta: daydreams, dreams
delta: dreamless sleep.

Theta is the state associated with creativity. But its closer to dreamless sleep than focus.

People with inattention problems are often in a theta state.

Thanks. I am frequently just staring off into space... basically daydreaming... pretty much all day long if left to my own devices.

This inattentive ADHD stuff fits me to a T... more so than anything else.

Any good books out there on this subject?

I would not know as my inattention is to the point I would rarely ever read a book that was not a refrence book and then only to look one thing up. Yeah if WP users profiles listed inattentive ADHD I would have selected it.

Heh, yeah I barely get through books. I start with good intentions and get through about 2 chapters and hit a wall. I usually just skip around and pick up bits of information piecemeal.

Wikipedia articles on the other hand...