What do you do to be creative?

[Shinizak]

I'll be honest, this pandemic has totally numbed me. It's difficult to get the will or focus to do any writing and design. So I thought I'd go back to the very basics and ask:

What do you do to be creative?

[TeChameleon]

This is relevant to me as well, as I've been struggling to pick back up my creative hobbies courtesy of a years-long bout of clinical depression (no end of fun when your own brain is the one telling you that you suck at this...).

What I've tried- and seems to be working at least to some degree- is the following:

1) Block off a chunk of time to... well, stare at a blank piece of paper (blank screen, whatever) if need be; if that time is specifically set aside for creativity, it helps head off some of the distractions, both internal and external, that are constantly going 'but I should be doing...'

2) A little mood setting can work wonders- I find music with a tone appropriate to whatever I'm wanting to create is great for me, something else might work for others, dunno

3) Get back into whatever inspired you to start creating in the first place. At the lowest points of my depression, I could barely muster the energy for day-to-day life, but once I got things under at least slightly better control, I was able to get back into the reading of novels and comics that inspired me to want to create to begin with, and as a result, the ideas have started flowing again, at least a little.

[Mastikator]

Here's the deal: Originality is a suckers game, just take stuff from other media, or from another DM in a campaign you were once a player in.

If I'm DMing and can't think of anything for a campaign I just run a module. Or steal from a show/movie/book that I liked. I only engage in world building because I want to DM in a particular world type that I can't find on the market, I only create campaigns because I want to play a certain game and there isn't one on the market. I only say something I have something I want to say. If you're in a rut just run modules, if you don't feel like DMing, don't DM. Nobody wants an unenthusiastic DM so you're not doing anyone any favors by not taking a break.

[Lacco]

I'll be honest, this pandemic has totally numbed me. It's difficult to get the will or focus to do any writing and design. So I thought I'd go back to the very basics and ask:

What do you do to be creative?

First off: preparation. Take a look at few images (fantasy landscapes, dungeon maps, world maps). Anything that tickles the part of your brain that says "this would be so cool to have in game".

Now take the phone, turn it off.

Put it into another room.

Get into a place, where there is no screen (no tv, no computer, no nothing). Take a notebook (paper) and pencil.

Put on some music (not from a phone!) and just start doodling, sketching, writing down ideas. If you don't have any ideas, go with Mastikator's idea. Take a scene from a movie (any movie) and try to think how it could be in a game.

If nothing works, turn the phone on again, check random generators for ideas. Don't get into a random generator loop - get 2-3 ideas, mix & match.

Turn it off, throw it into another room.

Get back to the notepad/notebook and pencil. Or pen. Or smear paint.

Have fun! That's the main point. If you are not having fun working on this, players won't have fun playing it. And what's the point then?

Still no effect? Let's do challenges! Limit your creativity: having an empty piece of paper can be daunting. Limits improve creativity.

Quick Stupid Idea Challenge:
Don't try to make it perfect. There are no bad ideas at brainstorming, so just write down stupid stuff and then, when done, try to make it good.
Put it on the paper. Don't keep it in your head and work on it, just write it down and go on with another, even worse idea.
The point is to get all the stupid ideas out of your head. You'll find strange stuff there.

Word challenge:
Open 3 nearest books at 3 random pages, blindly take 3 words from each. Build the idea around the words.
Don't like a word? Don't use it. But don't look for another one.

WWJWD (What Would John Wick Do?):
Choose a random movie. Pick a scene. What would John Wick do in that case?
Write it down. Now you have your antagonist.
Pick another character (Shaggy from Scooby Do? Count Rugen? Batman? Spongebob?). That's the second in command.
Run the scenario on paper.
Now this is their plan: mix with players to deliver explosions.

Still nothing? Okay. Switch to a different genre. And different ruleset. Read new gaming rules. Read new book.

Played D&D so far? Try out Riddle of Steel. Worked for me :smallsmile:

[Easy e]

Here are some high level rules of thumb, and I will get back to them with more detail (maybe?) later.

1. Innovation is overrated
2. Creation is a process
3. Do not worry about quality of output
4. Just do it
5. Expose yourself to inspiration
6. Tinker around in your "concept" folder
7. Eventually, you have to finish it

[Yora]

Input = Output

(Not sure if that's actually a programming law or something.)

Ideas don't come from nowhere. Creativity is not imagining things that you've never sen before, but finding new connections, configurations, and interactions between things that could be done, but have not yet. You need to fill your mind with evocative things before they can stew and produce something new.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Shinizak
What do you do to be creative?

Go for a walk.

Or cycling. Or kayaking. Anything to get outside into the world, away from screens and their compressive effect on the mind.



Then read books.

Repeat as necessary.

[KorvinStarmast]

Input = Output

(Not sure if that's actually a programming law or something.)

Ideas don't come from nowhere. Creativity is not imagining things that you've never sen before, but finding new connections, configurations, and interactions between things that could be done, but have not yet. You need to fill your mind with evocative things before they can stew and produce something new. That's my process, more or less. It's a case of synthesis, not analysis. :smallsmile:

[False God]

Crib stuff from other things I enjoy, boil it in a pot and call it kitchen soup.

[Telok]

Godzilla, pre-talkies, and Vincent Price movies. Dwarf Fortress, Morrowind, City of Heroes. Check the bookshelf for something I haven't read in a long time or get a new book.

If all else fails steal from history or Shakespear.

[Mastikator]

Input = Output

(Not sure if that's actually a programming law or something.)

The programming law is Garbage in, Garbage out. And it definitely applies to humans as well.

[Mr Beer]

If you are talking about getting ideas rather than filling in the details, I just post in forums such as this one and ask people for ideas.

"I want to run a campaign where the characters do an Underdark heist, retreat to a seemingly safe place and eventually have to confront the demon overlord they ripped off, please help" - boom free information.

[Faily]

Here's the deal: Originality is a suckers game, just take stuff from other media, or from another DM in a campaign you were once a player in.

If I'm DMing and can't think of anything for a campaign I just run a module. Or steal from a show/movie/book that I liked. I only engage in world building because I want to DM in a particular world type that I can't find on the market, I only create campaigns because I want to play a certain game and there isn't one on the market. I only say something I have something I want to say. If you're in a rut just run modules, if you don't feel like DMing, don't DM. Nobody wants an unenthusiastic DM so you're not doing anyone any favors by not taking a break.


I second this, and finding inspiration and ideas from other sources helps me a lot.



Likewise, I have a hard time doing anything with my hobbies these days as I seem to have a block. It's hard to start new projects, and even harder to finish anything. But what I found to work is that it's:
1. better do to something, even something that isn't perfect, than nothing at all.
2. work on whatever inspires you. Got an idea for a character, but no game to play them in right now? Write it down anyway and ride the wave of inspiration/productivity.
3. speaking of the wave of productivity, once you get started, keep it going. (this works for me since I work flexible schedules and can push myself a couple of hours more before bedtime)
4. multi-task. Got a show on Netflix to watch but it doesn't require your full attention? take notes/doodle sketches while watching.
5. set deadlines for yourself. Some people work better with structure, or an impending deadline.
6. accept that you're human and sometimes doing your best is also to not do anything at all.

[MoiMagnus]

I'll be honest, this pandemic has totally numbed me. It's difficult to get the will or focus to do any writing and design. So I thought I'd go back to the very basics and ask:

What do you do to be creative?

For design, I have a friend which is my "co-designer", in the sense that we're very good at helping each other to advance in our personal projects (boardgames, RPGs, scenarios, etc). Talking in person or by Discord for 1 or 2h usually advances thing up until the "well, now it's time to write things and/or playtest".

[paladinofshojo]

Honestly, I think Picasso said it best, “good artists borrow, great artists steal”

[Stonehead]

That's a tough spot to be in, the most useful thing for me is to just write down whatever ideas I have immediately when I get them. Then whenever it's time to sit down and prep, I have a solid list of starting points. If you hit a block when it's already that time though, this advice doesn't help much.

Most of the best ideas I have come from something kind of resembling the game Telephone. By that, I mean it's a misinterpretation/corruption of a different idea. Have you ever predicted a plot-twist that wasn't there, or misinterpreted some world-building or characterization, only to like your idea better than the canon one? Those mistaken predictions are usually really creative ideas. If you have a friend, it's pretty easy to come up with ideas just by repeatedly corrupting each other's boring ideas.

The other thing that works for me is to just list all of the possible things I can think of. Need an npc? What are all of the possible professions you can think of? Need a villain? What are all the possible crimes you can think of? Stealing is a crime. What are all the possible things that can be stolen? Once you have 15 or 20, at least one that works really well, and if not, you'll definitely have one that works kind of decently.

It's been said before in this thread, but hiding distractions really helps too. The modern world is almost designed to keep everyone half-interested in something, never focusing on any one thing. Getting away from the infinite distractions of the internet really helps me focus.

As @Palanan said, going on a walk is the best way to avoid distractions. You usually don't even need to try to come up with anything, you just let your mind wander and ideas pop into your head. Now, it's not really feasible to go on long walks where I live this time of year, but it's the sentiment that counts.

Also, shameless plug: I made a random generator using some of the ideas I came up with. Hopefully it helps spark some creativity. (http://argusarts.com/generator/landing.html)

[DigoDragon]

Has getting a good night's sleep been mentioned yet? Cause working with a tired brain is really hard on the ability to think up ideas for me. ^^

[Kurt Kurageous]

As been said, steal. I also second rest, calm, meditation, and prayer in any order you can do them.

Know the conflicts (man vs man etc)
Find something that interests you in a movie, book, play, whatever.
Identify what it is about that thing that interests you.
Set it in the world you run. How would it work out there? How would it work out if left alone and no protagonist engaged it.
Now how would it play out if a protagonist (the PCs) got involved at some point? Write out the possibilities, consequences, and you have an adventure.

But it starts with something that interests you. The last setting/adventure I wrote was after a long dry spell and a creeping sense of burnout. It was a re-envisioned prechristian Ireland where the fey and monsters of folklore were all very real. I listed multiple possible conflicts (sea hags vs fishermen, hippogriffs vs horses...) from the lore and of my own imagining. I read a bit of Irish folklore, and it interested me.

I've run it twice, and it's a blast. Players go somewhere and I have a handful of conflicts they could learn about and engage in or not. I don't stat out all of the possible encounters, I just have a compendium grouped by broad categories ("things that go bump in the night") ("the fey") to grab as needed. I'm proud of it. And it all began with something that interested me.

[EccentricCircle]

Change medium. I got really burned out back when I was writing my PhD thesis. I had so many ideas for games I was desperate to come back to once I had free time for hobbies again, but by that point I just couldn't write anymore, even for fun gaming projects which had nothing to do with work. I'd just written too much, and had to rest. So I sat down and threw myself into painting minis instead, did a lot of drawings, played video games for the first time in a decade, and before long the creativity was flowing again. I was just expressing them through maps, sketches, ideas in my head about how I could build terrain or use minis in a game etc. It's hard to spend hours painting little metal/ plastic people and not come up with a bit of a story about who they are and how they 'll fit in a game. Eventually i got back into writing, but the change of pace and different form of expression was what I needed

[lazylitch]

Listening to music while going for long walks seems to cause all kinds of creative ideas to start spinning up in my mind

[Athan Artilliam]

Usually when I want to work on X project, Y project is all I can think about, so I do Y until I start thinking about Z, then I do Z &... what do you mean I have too many projects?

[Psyren]

Steal borrow from other fiction and file off the serial numbers.

[Demostheknees]

Input = Output.

As others have commented already, this is really important. I often find that if I am not actively consuming narratives or media in general my creativity tanks - precisely because what we do is take from the stories we are told.

I would also like to add, a lot of my inspiration for sessions/adventures comes straight from watching actual plays like Dimension20 or listening to Podcasts like NADDPOD. Something will happen and I think of how I might run that as a DM, or some twist or revelation will kick my brain into worldbuilding mode. It will often happen so much that I have to rewind because I missed something important.

[Easy e]

Sometimes, I off load the work to my players in session.....

I set a quick scene, and then let them run with it. I also ask them questions like....

1. Why is X important to you?
2. Tell me what you found?
3. What are you going to do?
4. What is your connection to Y?
5. Who do you meet and why do they matter to you?

Then, the PCs are building the story and I might shade in some details as we go, but frequently I have NO idea where the story is going either. You just need to keep up the tempo, and have it lead to a satisfying conclusion by the end of the session.

Piece of cake. No creativity needed for a good session.... :biggrin:

[SteveLightblade]

Honestly, listening to my internal monologue while at work. I slosh around ideas based on the media I've consumed, real life places I've been (especially small towns and nature), and general mechanical concepts and tactical sotuations for a campaign I think would be cool. The problem then is to put these ideas into a form where the players have fun with it.

[SimonMoon6]

Here's a Youtube video on how to think creatively:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em7hwLutvHg

[Dawgmoah]

It may be passe, but for inspiration I watch the news. Not just the big headlines but human interest stories, etc. Once you see something, a child found after a few nights lost in the forest, a baby surviving a tornado that made it an orphan, floods, bad weather, financial crisis, crime.

No matter a fantasy, SciFi, Western, Modern, etc - people are people.

Other than that - I steal ideas out of books and movies. Usually reading a good book makes me want to run a game in the books' scenario.

[Draconi Redfir]

Method 1:

Step 1: Take fictional creature / concept.
Step 2: Think "How can i plausibly make this work without the excuse of "Because magic"? / "How can i make this work using a completely different set of rules?" (Translating fantasy to sci-fi, sci-fi to fantasy, either to realistic, realistic to either, etc.)


Method 2:

Step 1: Take serval different thing that all have bits you like from different, unrelated places.
Step 2: Mash them together, clean up the bits, and add a couple of random things that none of the originals had.


Method 3:

Step 1: Come up with one small detail about something.
Step 2: Explain how that small detail affects that thing. Come up with at least one small detail that exists as a direct result of the previous small detail.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 with new detail.