Breaking through the creative barrier

Creative block.  Anyone who works in a creative capacity will recognise the signs

• The blank screen or piece of paper
• The never ending little jobs that 'need' to be done to avoid the real job
• The additional research you must do
• The software you need
• The cup of coffee you need
• The work you will do after lunch
• etc, etc, etc.....

Doesn't matter if you're a professional writer, designer or enthusiastic amateur, at some point you will find yourself completely stuck, devoid of inspiration and ideas.

Loads of fine minds have offered up ways of breaking through this creative barrier.  Long walks, music, sport, hanging upside down....  

A favourite was from the great David Ogilvy - he reckoned that creative juices started flowing after an afternoon spent with a bottle of fine claret.

Getting started is usually the hardest thing.  A little step in the right direction and then things start to fall together.

Idea Generator

This month we heard about a tool that can help from Lurie Austinser in St Louis, USA.  

Lurie told us about the Blog Post Ideas Generator.  

It's the brainchild of Matt Loomis, copywriter and creator of BuildyourownBlog.net - a site full of tips for blog writers.

Matt reckons that to get past writer's block and create a blog post, sometimes all you need is a 'starter line' - a few words that conjure up the essence of your story.  So he created his idea generator.  

Try it here.  

Just click on the button that says 'Generate Blog Post Idea' and it will create a random starter line from Matt's database.  

Keep clicking until you find one that hits the spot!

Add your own suggestions

The starter line ideas originally came from Matt, but in the true spirit of social internet, others have shared their own suggestions.  You can contribute too by clicking on the 'Submit your idea' link.

 

All in all, a nice little tool to get you started.  Please share.

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