NationStates Jolt Archive

I have none of it right now. I have an album cover to design, I have 5 days to get my jokes written and I still haven't even got 3 minutes of them.. and i have other things that I need inspiration for.

So, what does everyone else on NS do for inspiration? Who else has been sitting around uninspired? SaintB needs input!

Depends what I need it for...writing a paper, I usually had a beer. For poetry, short writings, and that kinda thing, I usually climb a mountain or go to the beach. Or go for a walk around the city...that usually works.

Or I look at other peoples work that I respect and admire.

Just work at it. If you feel you need a break from it, work on something else and ideas will come for your first thing.

There are no magic tricks or shortcuts just work at it until it works out.

Just work at it. If you feel you need a break from it, work on something else and ideas will come for your first thing.

There are no magic tricks or shortcuts just work at it until it works out.

I'm pretty sure Pot and acid count.

Just work at it. If you feel you need a break from it, work on something else and ideas will come for your first thing.

There are no magic tricks or shortcuts just work at it until it works out.

I have been, I spent 2 hours last night staring at the page on which I had written my first jokes fro the Comedy Show I am supposed to be at and I haven't written a bloody thing :(

I'm pretty sure Pot and acid count.

No thanks, I'm autistic. I barely have control over my own mind as it is.

I usually play music. Especially Stevie Nicks.

Sometimes, though, I'll go along for a while with zero inspiration, but when I get the inspiration, it comes out of nowhere.

I usually play music. Especially Stevie Nicks.


Windows is holding my music hostage until I pay them $150 :(. Long story about a stolen authorization code....

Lack of music is probably the source behind my lack of inspiration... I need to pursue other ways to get inspired.

I have been, I spent 2 hours last night staring at the page on which I had written my first jokes fro the Comedy Show I am supposed to be at and I haven't written a bloody thing :(

Yeah, but that's not 'working'. You're just staring at a blank screen or piece of paper. The answer isn't going to be found on NSG, it's going to be found by just writing anything - probably utter dogpoo - until you hit upon something worthwhile.

If you're writing jokes then sit down with a piece of paper (not at the computer) and, for each subject about which you have something to say, draw a mind map with ALL the things you can connect with it - EVERYTHING that comes to mind.

I tend to listen to music when I'm on a dry spell where inspiration is concerned. I try to take walks too. I find that it often helps with a block.

Yeah, but that's not 'working'. You're just staring at a blank screen or piece of paper. The answer isn't going to be found on NSG, it's going to be found by just writing anything - probably utter dogpoo - until you hit upon something worthwhile.

If you're writing jokes then sit down with a piece of paper (not at the computer) and, for each subject about which you have something to say, draw a mind map with ALL the things you can connect with it - EVERYTHING that comes to mind.

I'll write love sonnets to wheat bread...

I tend to listen to music when I'm on a dry spell where inspiration is concerned. I try to take walks too. I find that it often helps with a block.

I'm not feeling well and there is two feet of snow :(

I'm not feeling well and there is two feet of snow :(

Then pop in your favorite CD and have a nice, warm cup of tea or cocoa. Stare out at the snow and relax. That may unwind you enough to allow you some free thinking. And jot down any ideas, even if they seem idiotic at first. The could prove to be fertile material for your jokes or for designing the album cover.

Get yourself away from the paper and away from the computer. You have to put yourself in a position where you can't write down or sketch out every little idea as soon as you get it, instead you put it back into the hopper.

If you can't remember it later (without writing or sketching it at the time) then it wasn't worth anything. Go to the beach, climb a mountain, those are good strategies. Anything which leaves you to your thoughts without outright boredom.

EDIT: Uh, snow. Maybe not the beach then. Cross-country skiing ...?

I often go to flickr and just type in 'inspiration' - whatever it is I need to think about, I go to flickr and type the word into the space bar.

For comedy, watch this for a bit...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OIcrCZQkSlg

For comedy, watch this for a bit...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OIcrCZQkSlg

I love Ricky Gervais...

I've found staying up late at night often helps my creative 'juices', so to speak.

This isn't meant to be inspiring. I just like it.

Non Sequitur by Riley, 18 Nov 2008
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg49/3-laws-of-Hobotics/nq081118.gif

Shove something up your arse. That apparently works for most arty types.

Though if you are waiting around for inspiration, it can't be that fucking desperate anyway. Necessity is the &c.

Shove something up your arse.
Ginger for instance. That apparently works for most arty types.And race-horses. It's known as "gingering up" and it makes a horse ... well, very forwardly motivated. :eek:

Ginger for instance. And race-horses. It's known as "gingering up" and it makes a horse ... well, very forwardly motivated. :eek:

Urban myth mate.

Urban myth mate.

I was told that by a friend who knows insane amounts of trivia about horses. That's better than "urban myth mate" for mine.

In other words, prove it.

I was told that by a friend who knows insane amounts of trivia about horses. That's better than "urban myth mate" for mine.

In other words, prove it.

Yah, well my friend....

Jockeys. It is easier to knobble the jockey.

Also, no amount of ginger will turn a lame horse into a derby winner.

That said, some people do indeed like figging.

I ask myself one question: What would Brian Boitano do? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eDwECOdMCQ&feature=related)

I tend to get out of the house and go for a walk, admire the beauty of the natural world and avoid other people. However, when you do come back to writing down you must be persistent otherwise nothing will progress, regardless of how bad it might seem at the beginning.

I guess its more of I can't stay inspired. My Inspiration lasts minutes at best and is only a single topic. I treid brainstorming my jokes for the comedy show, I had a lot of ideas, but I couldn't put them into a coherant thought. Tomorow I need to call and tell them that I can not take the spot they offered me.

I get most of my inspiration from the reading terrible stories written by other people. Student submissions in creative writing classes, 70's and 80's pulp adventure novels, fanfics; the world is filled with ideals, characters or plot points in dire need of parody.
Eventually, if the idea is actually any good, it moves away from the original source material, and then becomes it's own thing. But everything has to start somewhere.

Smoke a joint. That's always good for some inspiration. The crazy kind maybe, but that's still inspiration.

Read some motivational posters at motifake.com

Smoke a joint. That's always good for some inspiration. The crazy kind maybe, but that's still inspiration.

I'm autistic, no drugs...

I take a notebook and a few pens and ride BART for awhile. Something about the motion of the train, the light, the people around me, just does it for me.

Challenges can be good, too--one-line challenges and first-line ones are my favorite, drabbles...anything that puts constraints on your subject or style.

I'm autistic, no drugs...

You're autistic ... and you want to do standup comedy. That's a tough call, isn't it?

All I can suggest is parodying yourself. Get some really bad jokes (chicken crossing the road stuff) and make a point of telling them really badly. Be the guy who dies on stage, the least funny comedian ever.

The worst it could go is that you die on stage. You wouldn't be the first. And the audience reaction will give you ideas for your next stand-up.

You're autistic ... and you want to do standup comedy. That's a tough call, isn't it?

All I can suggest is parodying yourself. Get some really bad jokes (chicken crossing the road stuff) and make a point of telling them really badly. Be the guy who dies on stage, the least funny comedian ever.

The worst it could go is that you die on stage. You wouldn't be the first. And the audience reaction will give you ideas for your next stand-up.

My condition is very similar to Asperger syndrome.

My condition is very similar to Asperger syndrome.

I'm going to find the other thread you made. It probably says who your audience are and what you've got so far.

I'll continue this there, since most of the advice here seems to be related to fiction writing.

Go for a walk in the woods

Take a ton of heroin.

Or write jokes about being resistant to suggestions given on a forum.... some well-meaning, and others clearly mean to be either facetious or malicious.

Or write jokes about being resistant to suggestions given on a forum.... some well-meaning, and others clearly mean to be either facetious or malicious.

I took all the serious ones into consideration Kat :(

I have none of it right now. I have an album cover to design, I have 5 days to get my jokes written and I still haven't even got 3 minutes of them.. and i have other things that I need inspiration for.

So, what does everyone else on NS do for inspiration? Who else has been sitting around uninspired? SaintB needs input!

1)-Turn on some relaxing music. Even if microsoft is holding your music hostage, use youtube or some such thing to find a really, really relaxing song. (I personally suggest Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, or Pachelbel's Canon)

2)-Sugar. It's not a drug, but it works like a charm for inspiration for some reason. When I write long pieces, and pieces get very long in law school, I usually eat an entire bag of double chocolate milanos before being inspired.

3)-Do something you enjoy very much. For me, kicking around a soccer ball with some friends works wonders in the creative department. (it also counters out the side effects of the milanos)

4)-Talk to a friend. I have a friend/classmate who I always do prewrites with, and we just bounce ideas off one another over AIM for hours at a time. This has significantly improved the quality of both our ideas.

Hope I have been of help, and good luck.

I have none of it right now. I have an album cover to design, I have 5 days to get my jokes written and I still haven't even got 3 minutes of them.. and i have other things that I need inspiration for.

So, what does everyone else on NS do for inspiration? Who else has been sitting around uninspired? SaintB needs input!

Do something satirical. *nods*